


The path to redemption

by Aragorn_II_Elessar



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Buffy characters watch Angel, F/F, F/M, Future Fic, Not a Bangel fic, Past Angel/Buffy Summers, Past Relationship(s), Post-Episode: s07e22 Chosen, Post-Season/Series 07, Post-Season/Series 07 Finale, Post-Season/Series Finale, Redemption, Tara Maclay Lives, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Watch-it fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 87,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27895792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aragorn_II_Elessar/pseuds/Aragorn_II_Elessar
Summary: Watch-it fic. In the near future, the future version of the Scooby Gang summon their past selves to watch all 5 Seasons of Angel.
Relationships: Angel/Cordelia Chase, Buffy Summers & Dawn Summers, Lilah Morgan/Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Rupert Giles & Xander Harris & Willow Rosenberg & Buffy Summers, Tara Maclay & Dawn Summers, Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg, Willow Rosenberg & Dawn Summers, Winifred "Fred" Burkle/Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Xander Harris & Dawn Summers
Comments: 22
Kudos: 32





	1. Summoning the past

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> So, welcome everyone. This is going to be the second watch-it fic I do, and unlike my previous one, this will have weekly updates only, so that I do not get stressed while writing it.
> 
> And considering it's a long TV Series I am writing, its best to give it weekly updates really, unless I have to do break chapters, which would be shorter. I'm thinking this story will be updated once or twice a week at best, unless something happens which stalls my updates.
> 
> Anyway, in this story, all 7 Seasons of Buffy and 5 Seasons of Angel are cannon, and also the 'After The Fall' comic book series, but after that, stuff happened differently, mainly the Buffy Season 8 comics, and the changes will be revealed in this story later, as they are done for this story's purposes.
> 
> And pairings are a strong point of contention in the Buffyverse fandom, so I am going to name my Buffyverse OTPs first so you know where I stand regarding those matters (I am only naming the pairings that have a bearing on this fic's plot)- Angel/Cordelia, Buffy/Spike, Wesley/Lilah and Gunn/Gwen.
> 
> Out of these, the only one that won't be supported by me here is Wesley/Lilah, since as much as I love it, Wesley/Fred was the healthier relationship, and I like that one too, it's just not my OTP is all.
> 
> Also, I'm not a Buffy/Angel fan personally. I know its iconic and all that, but there are many issues I had with how their relationship played out, and its only Sarah's and David's chemistry that prevented the pairing from being a total dumpster fire IMO. So no Bangel here.
> 
> And another OTP of mine is Willow/Tara (my most favorite relationship in all of Buffyverse), and I'm naming it since it will feature in this story. How's that?
> 
> I just got this idea from Chunk127's fic which I used in one story with his permission and now I'll use it again- After her death, Tara was sent to a Hell Dimension because her father bound her spirit there as punishment for ditching the family, and in this fic, due to some kind of accident or breach in Dimensions, Tara escaped the Hell Dimension and her spirit ended up contacting the Scooby Gang, at which point they managed to restore her to life, and so Willow and Tara were back together again, since it's my OTP, and it's amazing and lovely and Tara is amazing and wonderful and a saint and FUCK KENNEDY!
> 
> So because of that, Tara is alive in this fic, and Willow/Tara are happily together.
> 
> Anyway, with everything said, we shall begin.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang summon their past selves.

London, 2008

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Tara and Dawn sat together in their room, looking at the TV that was flowing with magic due to what Willow and Tara had just done to it.

"It's time I guess", Xander said. "Let's call them all."

"Should we have past Faith too?" Dawn asked.

"No", Buffy said. "We are going to call those who didn't understand him properly. Faith understood him, better than any of us did, even me, as she and he had similar experiences."

"So it's the past versions of all of us and Giles then", Willow said and nods followed from the rest.

"The spell has a limit of 6 anyway, so I think us and him are the best options to bring here", Tara said.

"All right then, do it", Buffy ordered as Willow and Tara held hands and closed their eyes, chanting together while enchanted mist flew out of their hands.

* * *

London, 2004

Buffy was about to train some recruits with Faith when an enchanted mist covered her and she disappeared from the area.

* * *

Giles was reading some texts when he was also covered by the enchanted mist and disappeared.

* * *

Dawn was returning from college back to the base when she was covered in an enchanted mist and disappeared as well.

* * *

Rio de Janeiro

Willow and the recently resurrected Tara were about to go out together when an enchanted mist covered them and the two of them disappeared too.

* * *

Africa

Xander was sitting in a woodhouse, thinking about Anya when an enchanted mist covered him and he disappeared from the area.

* * *

London, 2008

The six of them crashed on the ground together, looking at each other.

"Xander?" Buffy asked in surprise on seeing him before seeing the rest. "Willow, Tara."

"Hi Buffy", Willow waved to her.

"So, how did we get together?" Xander asked.

"I am thinking exactly the same thing", Giles said.

"It was magic, I know that", Dawn said.

"But who conjured it?" Tara asked.

"We did."

They turned and their eyes widened on seeing another Willow and Tara in the front, and another Buffy, another Xander and another Dawn.

"Whoa! Body doubles! I am not doing that anymore!" Xander said, raising his hands as he backed off.

"Relax, we are not body doubles", the other Xander said.

"Really, then what are you?" Dawn asked.

"And where is mine?" Giles asked.

"We are you", the oher Dawn said.

"From the future", the other Buffy finished as their jaws dropped.

"Wait what?!" Willow asked. "Future?"

"Yes, we are you all from four years in the future, and we used a time travel spell to bring you here", the other Tara told them.

"Is this possible?" Buffy asked.

"Me and Willow have read about such spells, they exist, but they are too dangerous to try", Tara said.

"We perfected its use before using it", future Willow said. "And it can only bring 6 people at a time, the 6 being the 6 of you."

"Yeah, I noticed that", Giles said.

"Why have you brought us to the future then?" Buffy asked as she got up.

"To prevent an apocalypse", the future Buffy told her. "One that will take away many good people from you when it comes."

"Really? How bad is it?" Giles asked.

"That we will tell you later", future Willow said.

"Then what are we supposed to do right now?" Dawn asked.

"Just switch on the TV and watch it", future Buffy said, gesturing to the remote. "There are important things there you must see."

"Any specific reason?" Xander asked.

"To understand some people that you never really understood", future Xander said to his past self, sounding a bit ashamed, for whatever reason it was.

"And we're just supposed to trust you?" Willow asked the future people.

"Willow, I can read their auras, they are us, they are not lying", Tara told her, and that convinced the past people that they were facing their future selves.

"Like Buffy said, watch the TV, when you're done for the day, we will tell you some stuff", future Dawn said, and with that, the future people walked out of the room together, leaving them in that room with the TV.

"So, what do we do?" Xander asked.

"Switch on the TV and watch whatever it is they want us to watch", Buffy said.

"Yes, whatever it is, it sounds important", Willow said.

"Well then", Giles said as they all sat down on the big couch. Xander sat at the right corner, beside him was Willow, then Tara beside her, then Dawn, then Buffy, and then Giles at the left corner.

Buffy picked up the remote and turned the TV on. "Let's watch whatever they want us to watch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the start of the fic, and hope it was intriguing enough for everyone.
> 
> I originally wanted to do one with all 12 Seasons of Buffyverse, but even with weekly updates, I doubt I'd have the energy to finish something that big, and I couldn't find a good enough justification to have the characters watch Buffy as well alongside Angel, so here we are with the final version of this, which is 'BTVS characters watch Angel.'
> 
> When the future characters appear again, they will be referred to by their surnames, other than Dawn, since she is also a 'Summers', so I'll just call her Dawnster instead.
> 
> And other than 'After the Fall', I haven't read the follow-up comics properly, so I have no idea what the year was in their Universe when the Buffyverse comics finally ended their run, but I don't think their Universe is really in the same year as ours, and would be behind, so I made the year of their future 2008, since it would be just 4 years after the Angel Series finale.
> 
> Next one would be 'City Of'. Like in 'A Beautiful Journey', I won't transcribe word for word, just write short paragraphs to describe scenes, but if there is a scene or line I love too much, I will transcribe that bit due to how much I love the scene or line, and same for any iconic scenes.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	2. City Of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch Angel's first meetings with Doyle and Lindsey as well as his reunion with Cordelia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits and bookmarks, and hope all enjoy this chapter too.

"Still wondering what we're gonna see", Willow said.

"Well, wonder no longer", Buffy said as the TV turned on finally.

**The city of Los Angeles was shown at night, with people going on about their normal lives, as a voice said. "Los Angeles. You see it at night and it shines. Like a beacon. People are drawn to it. People and other things. They come for all sorts of reasons. My reason? No surprise there. It started with a girl."**

"Is that…." Xander trailed off, all but Tara recognizing the voice.

"Who?" Tara asked. "Who are we talking about?"

"Just watch", Buffy told her.

**Angel sat at a bar, playing with a glass sitting in front of him. He appeared to be slightly drunk as he said. "She was a really, really pretty girl. No she, she was a hottie girl. She, she had - I mean - her hair was... You know? - -You kind of remind me of her. Because, because – you know – the hair. I mean – the hair." Angel looked at the guy next to him, who was dark-skinned and burly.**

All had to stifle their giggles as Dawn suddenly said. "Is the girl he's talking about you?"

"Suddenly, this isn't funny anymore", Buffy said.

"I have never seen him drunk", Willow said.

"Why are we seeing drunk Angel though?" Xander asked.

"I believe the answers will be told to us in due time", Giles said.

"And we're also getting background music for this", Dawn said.

"Based on observations and studies, this generation's attention span isn't very high, so things like background music will hold your attention", Giles said.

"Hey!" Xander said, looking at him offended, as all shot him weird looks and he had a lame look on his face now. "Guess that's me."

"So that's Angel?" Tara asked and all nodded.

**Angel looked at 3 guys and 2 girls playing pool, as one of them came to the bartender to cash out. Angel looked at him, drunken, and laughed. "Girls are nice." The guy looked disgusted.**

Everyone chuckled at the scene as Willow said. "Okay, he's funny this way. Never knew he could be funny too."

"Even I didn't", Buffy said, wondering why Angel was so broody in Sunnydale, and much less broody in LA.

**When the cashing out was done, the guys and girls walked out. Angel now stopped laughing, his expression turning serious.**

"Looks like it was an act", Dawn said as all were now interested.

"He's an amazing actor", Buffy said, remembering the time they had tricked Faith.

"Yeah, I still remember", Xander groaned, remembering that time.

**Angel got up and walked out of the bar, following them.**

"Okay, that looks cool", Tara said. "Especially with the music."

"Took the words right of my mouth", Willow agreed with her.

**The guys and girls were talking when the guys got rough, startling the girls, and grabbed them, turning into Vamps.**

No one reacted, since this was a rather common occurrence, unfortunately.

"I had a feeling that was going to happen", Buffy said.

"But they have trouble coming", Dawn pointed out as all looked excited for what would happen next.

**Angel staggered to them, supposedly drunk, asking for his car which was big and shiny.**

"Like the Batmobile?" Xander joked as all chuckled.

**The Vamp told Angel off, who looked at his face closely and asked about breath mint.**

The audience chuckled again as Xander said. "So he has a sense of humor. That's new."

**The vamp threw the girl into some trashcans and swung at Angel. Angel blocked, knocking him down, then spun around to knock the second vamp running up in the face, then kicked out at the first vamp just getting back up. The third tackled Angel to the ground, but Angel catapulted him over his head and got back up. He saw two vamps charging him from opposite sides, then triggered the stakes concealed in spring-loaded wrist sheathes under his sleeves and staked both at the same time. They dusted.**

"Okay, that was awesome!" Dawn cheered while all had dropped jaws.

"Why didn't you ever try that?" Willow asked Buffy.

"I'm asking myself the same question right now", Buffy said lamely.

"I am a terrible Watcher", Giles muttered to himself.

**The first vamp came up and hit him over the head with a trashcan. Angel dropped to the ground.**

"You shouldn't have done that", Buffy said.

**Angel looked up with his vamp face. "You shouldn't have done that."**

"He repeats after you", Willow joked as all chuckled while Buffy shook her head.

**Getting up, Angel hit the vamp in the stomach then threw him. The vamp spun in the air and landed on top of a car's windshield cracking it. The girls watched, scared, and thanked him. Angel spun around and she looked shocked at his vamp face. He stared at her bleeding cut. "Stay away from me."**

"Why is he doing that?" Dawn asked. "I mean, he can live without human blood, and not be enticed by it, right?"

"I think I know why", Buffy realized, touching her neck. "This has to be soon after our graduation from Sunnydale."

"When you made him feed from you?" Willow asked.

"Why did you do that?" Tara asked.

"He was poisoned and only a Slayer's blood could save him", Buffy explained. "Drinking it would have made him long for human blood again. He is trying to resist it."

"Poor guy", Dawn said, feeling bad for him, and Buffy, Willow and Tara too. Giles and Xander, not as much as them.

**The girls backed off. Angel stalked down the alley looking disgusted. Breaking a slat from a wooden crate he staked the vamp still lying on the car's hood without even looking. The girls watched him leave. Angel walked off in the dark alley, disappearing in the dark of the night.**

"Okay, even I am going to admit, that bit looked badass", Xander said, and no one really disagreed.

**Angel walked down a street, entering an office building, then got into an elevator as it went down. Angel got out, taking off his coat as he walked into the apartment. He undid the empty wrist sheaths, stepping over to a weapons cabinet, then took off his shirt, revealing a black muscle shirt underneath, and dropped it over the back of a sofa. Someone appeared behind him as he froze.**

"Trouble?" Dawn asked.

"No idea", Giles said.

**Angel turned around to see a man who spoke in an Irish accent, saying he liked the place due to its bat-cave like air.**

"Oh! It's Doyle!" Buffy said, recognizing him as they had met once.

"Angel's half-Demon Irish friend, right?" Willow asked and Buffy nodded.

"He sounds much more Irish than Angel does", Xander said and all chuckled, but also agreed. [1]

**The man played with a deck of cards, introducing himself as Doyle as Angel said he didn't smell human. Doyle said he was very much human and then sneezed, blue spikes popping over his now green face, his eyes going red.**

All looked a bit startled at that, his Demon face being a bit of a surprise due to how it looked.

"Damn!" Xander said.

"It looks creepy", Dawn added.

"You should look at Clem", Buffy told them as they got over it.

**Doyle added on his mother's side and shook his head, the spikes disappearing. Doyle walked in, saying he came in uninvited so it was obvious he wasn't a Vampire. Angel inquired about his intentions and he said 'The Powers That Be' had sent him.**

"Right! Them!" Giles said. "Still don't understand what they exactly want."

"None of us do", Tara said.

**Doyle said he was going to tell a bedtime story as Angel joked he wasn't sleepy, and Doyle started. "Once upon a time there was a vampire. And he was the meanest vampire in all the land." There was a flashback to Angelus in vamp face biting Daniel, then flashback to Angelus biting a girl.**

All looked uncomfortable on seeing Angelus as Tara asked. "That's Angelus?"

"That's Angelus", Buffy confirmed.

" **All the other vampires were afraid of him, he was such a - bastard. Then one day he's cursed – by gypsies." There was a flashback to old gypsy lady speaking the curse as Angelus' eyes glowed, his soul returning while he looked around in horror.**

"That's how it happened the first time, huh", Willow noted.

" **They restore his human soul. And all of a sudden he is mad with guilt. You know: 'What have I done?' You know, he's freaked."" Angel said now he was sleepy.**

"His storytelling is kind of fun", Dawn said.

"Yeah, but he's telling it to the wrong person, isn't he?" Xander asked.

" **Yeah, well, it's a fairly dull tale. It needs a little sex, is my feeling. So sure enough: enter the girl." The screen flashed to scenes of Buffy, specifically one where she held weapons, looking around.**

"Hey, it's you!" Willow said as Buffy chuckled.

"That looks so cool", Xander said.

"Where's that from?" Dawn asked.

"When I had run off", Buffy said, remembering as all sighed at that memory other than Tara.

" **Pretty little blonde thing", Doyle whistled. "Vampire Slayer by trade. And our vampire falls madly in love with her." There was a flash to Angel and Buffy kissing. "Eventually the two of them, - well, they get fleshy with one another. Well, I guess the technical term is perfect happiness."**

"They had to show that", Buffy groaned, uncomfortable as all groaned at the kissing bit, knowing that had to be the prelude to the lovemaking.

" **But when our boy gets there", flash to Buffy and Angel making love, "he goes bad again."**

"And now they showed it", Buffy said, all turning away. "I'm going to kill the future us."

"Yeah, add me to the kill squad", Dawn popped up.

Giles took off his glasses, cleaning them for a bit before putting them back on as the scene changed.

" **He kills again. It's ugly. So when he gets his soul back for the second time, he figures hey, he can't be anywhere near Miss young puppy eyes without endangering them both. So what does he do? He takes off." It flashed to Angel walking away as Buffy watched.**

Buffy felt her heart skip a beat at that. She had moved on from Angel, but that memory was still painful. No one commented wisely.

" **Goes to LA", Doyle picked up a knife. "To fight evil - and atone for his crimes. He's a shadow, - a faceless champion of the hapless human race. –" Doyle then asked for beer and Angel said he didn't, with Doyle wondering if he only had pig's blood. Angel commented that Doyle had told him his life's story, but he already knew, so he should kick him out.**

"He's not wrong there", Tara said.

**Doyle looked at the bags of blood, saying he will explain what happens after. The Vampire is now doing his penance, but is cut off from the people he's helping. Angel said nobody cared about chatting as Doyle asked the last time he had drank blood, and Angel remembered it was Buffy.**

"So I was right about that", Buffy said.

**Doyle pointed out it left him with craving, and warned it would grow till he wanted to eat a human he saved, and then asked for a Billy Dee.**

"I like this guy", Willow said as all chuckled at his behavior.

"He does seem fun", Xander agreed.

"And like you said, he sounds Irish too", Giles added, all chuckling again.

**Angel and Doyle walked down the street, the latter holding a bottle in a paper bag, as Doyle said it wasn't just about fighting, but also showing there was love and hope still left in the world. A homeless lady asked him for a change and he asked her to get a job, calling her a lazy sow.**

All ended up laughing as Xander said. "Now that is irony!"

"He is definitely fun", Dawn said.

**Doyle said this was about saving souls, including Angel's own. Angel asked who had sent him, and Doyle said they never spoke directly, he only got visions, which were great splitting migraines with pictures.**

"Don't want to know what that feels like", Tara said, all just wondering how bad it could be.

**He said the one sending them was more powerful than them both. When Angel asked why him, Doyle replied he had potential but the balance sheet wasn't in his favor, and Doyle himself had something to atone for. He pulled a paper out of his pocket, which had the name of a 'Tina' in a coffee shop. She was a nice looking girl who needed help, and Angel's business was to know that, since he just took the names.**

"Surprisingly vague", Willow said. "But not surprised, it's the Powers That Be."

**Doyle said Angel was supposed to get into her life. High school was over now and this was time for grown-up talk.**

"Yeah, high school's over", Buffy agreed. "This would be around the time we first went to college."

"He's not wrong there", Willow said.

**Angel wondered why a woman he'd never met would talk to him, and Doyle joked about him looking into a mirror.**

"His hair are funny", Xander said and all rolled their eyes.

**Angel said he wasn't good with people and Doyle reminded him the point of the exercise, asking if he was game.**

"He is", Buffy said, knowing he would help.

**Angel pulled up near the coffee shop in his convertible, then sat at a table, drinking coffee. The waitress, who was Tina, had a chat about shifts with the guy behind the counter and walked to Angel's table while he leaned forward to look at a white dog, commenting on its cuteness but she walked past him without even noticing him as he straightened.**

"That was a fail", Xander said as all sighed.

**Angel tried to talk to her as she walked back, and as she turned around, she accidentally knocked over a coffee cup but Angel reached out and caught it without spilling a drop.**

"Oh thank God", Giles said, all sighing in relief.

"And now it worked", Tara said.

**Tina complimented his reflexes and thanked him while Angel asked if she was happy since she looked down. She wondered if he was watching her and he explained he was looking over there and she walked past. Tina said he didn't hit much on girls and he said he was new in town.**

"Yeah, he doesn't, right?" Dawn asked and all shook their heads. "Though I think those looks are good enough."

All shot her looks as she did the zipper motion.

**Tina advised him to not stay before he repeated his question, and she asked if he had 3 hours. Angel said he wasn't busy, so she told him she got off at 10.**

"At least she is coming with him now", Willow said.

"Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing", Xander commented.

**Angel leaned against his convertible as Tina arrived in a black dress, making Angel feel underdressed as she pulled out a bottle of mace, asking him to leave her alone and tell Russell the same.**

"Okay, that I didn't expect", Buffy said.

"So someone is after her", Giles noted. "And she thinks Angel works for that person, who is Russell."

**Angel managed to convince her he didn't know any Russell as she lowered her mace and apologized, while he asked who Russell was but she walked past him, though he wanted to help. She said she wanted to go home in Missoula, asking if he'd been there. Angel said during the Depression, before saying his depression, when he was depressed.**

All chuckled as Xander said. "Well, that was a narrow save. The guy has no game."

"Look who's talking", Willow said, making him sputter as all laughed at him.

**Tina said she'd come to be a movie star but they weren't hiring, still she had a fabulous party to attend to, saying the girl giving it owned her security deposit, and joked it was nice threatening him. Angel asked if she wanted a lift.**

"So, party next I guess", Tara said.

**Angel drove Tina to a fabulous Hollywood party, with Margo videotaping people as she asked Tina to smile and she did, while inquiring about the 'hunk of tall, dark and handsome', and Tina said he was just a friend before asking to talk with her.**

"What is it about him?" Xander wondered.

"He is broody and mysterious", Buffy said. "Young girls like that."

"Then why were you all staring at me?" Dawn asked, and got looks again, so she did the zipper motion once more.

"So this is what a Hollywood party looks like, huh", Tara noted. "Can't have much peace."

All nodded in agreement.

**Tina picked up a star as Angel asked about Russell and she simply said he was someone she made the mistake of trusting, while Margo arrived and so she and Tina walked off, with Angel wandering around, looking lost.**

"I don't think he has even been in regular parties", Willow said.

**An Oliver arrived, asking if Angel was an actor, and gave him a business card, saying he would be an agent if called, and Angel failed in his attempts to return the card while Oliver walked off.**

"Those are agents for you", Giles said.

"To be honest, he could make a great model if he wasn't a Vamp", Tara commented, and no one really disagreed.

**Angel heard a familiar voice. "You know, they asked me to come back and read for a third time! I'm and actress. I don't put up with things like that!"**

"Oh is that…" Xander trailed off.

"Sounds just like her", Willow said, smirking.

"Now who are we meeting?" Tara asked.

"Sunnydale's most popular", Buffy said.

**Angel spotted Cordelia talking to two guys in business suits and called out to her as she turned to him, recognizing him while Angel said it was nice to meet a familiar face, and she asked if he was living in LA, and he said he was while she said she was living in Malibu in a condo in a beach.**

"For some reason, I don't think she is", Willow said.

"Yeah", Buffy agreed. "Since she went to work with Angel."

"I can't believe last time I saw her was graduation", Xander said, never having seen her since then. And they also felt a saddened on seeing her, since she was in a coma currently, and there hadn't been any improvement.

**Cordelia said how acting was her life and asked if Angel was still a Vamp, doing a 'grrr', as she raised her hands and made a face.**

All chuckled as Tara said. "That looked surprisingly adorable."

"And hilarious", Buffy added.

**Angel reminded there wasn't a cure for that, as Cordelia joked he wasn't evil so not here to bite people, and Angel said he was with a friend while Cordelia said it was nice seeing him but needed to talk to people who were somebody, and then walked off. Angel commented it was nice she had grown as a person.**

All chuckled as Buffy said. "Same old Cordelia."

**Angel saw a black haired guy called Stacy talking to Tina, saying Russell wanted to see her, but she pulled away, telling Angel he was a creep, and asked to go.**

"So leaving the party now", Buffy commented.

**Angel and Tina stepped out into the parking garage when 3 guys arrived, one grabbing her while the other two tackled Angel as they fell into the elevator, the door closing as Stacy arrived, telling Tina he just wanted to see her, so she quit struggling.**

"When a shady guy says someone wants to see you, you know its more than just seeing", Xander said, no one disagreeing.

**They walked through the doors as Tina ran, the two catching her and getting into a Mercedes Sedan. Then Angel came out of the elevator, the two guys unconscious, and ran to see the Sedan, before leaping into his convertible in a heroic jump. For some reason, the keys didn't fit, and he turned to see an identical convertible parked four spots down. "Damn it!"**

In spite of the situation, all chuckled as Dawn said. "And that's an epic fail, because the jump looked cool."

**Angel drove the convertible for a head-on collision with the Sedan but the driver got scared and drove into a parked car. Angel got out of the car and kicked the Sedan's door to slam into the driver, grabbing his pistol away before aiming at Stacy, who told him not to get involved while Angel asked Tina to get into the car as she did. Stacy boasted he won't pull the trigger and Angel instead gave him a hard left. "Good call." He dropped the gun and got into the car.**

"Well, that was fun", Buffy said. "At least she's safe for now."

All sighed in relief as Giles said. "But it can get worse."

**Tina joked it was a good party and Angel said how it was too fabulous for him. Cordelia was then seen in her apartment, which was poor with plaster patches on dirty yellow walls, and she hung her dress on a bare closet, while her answering machine gave a message from a Joe who said they weren't getting any auditions and all had seen enough of her. There wasn't any need to call but they would if the situation changed.**

"It translates to- "We will never call you again. Have a good life"", Dawn said.

"So she was trying to show a front at the party then", Tara said, all feeling bad for her.

"But she wasn't too bad, I mean, why is no one hiring her?" Xander asked.

"In Sunnydale, she may have been the best, but in LA, she was just another pretty face", Willow said. "The competition is stiff."

"And the people are sleazy", Buffy added.

**Cordelia took out a star-shaped sandwich she'd stashed at the party, sighing, with the answering messages having no more machines.**

"Looks like it's a good thing Angel hired her", Giles said, and even Xander agreed this time.

**At Angel's apartment, Tina ruffled through her bag, saying with her Girl Scout Training, she could live out of this bag for days, while Angel offered tea, and asked if she liked milk or sugar, and she said she did but he told her he didn't have those as he didn't have many visitors.**

"Actually, none until Doyle", Buffy said. "And now her."

**Tina looked at his weapons, commenting they weren't ones he liked while he gave her tea, saying he had relationship issues too.**

"Understatement of the century", Willow said, Buffy sighing.

**Tina wondered if he'd comfort her now, but Angel said he'd give her a safe place to stay as they figured things out, and Angel said she'd enough people taking advantage of her. Tina almost cried, saying he was in the wrong town, and he gave her a dishtowel, asking about Russell's last name but she declined, saying he could get away with murder. Angel asked who he'd murdered, and she said she perhaps no one, but he liked pain as a friend, and no one could leave him, since a girl called Denise tried but then disappeared off the face of the Earth. "He finds you."**

"Man, this guy must be really powerful in the city if he can do that", Xander said, all wondering how Tina would get out of this.

"He hasn't met Angel yet though", Buffy said, confident that Angel could protect her.

" **Not anymore", Angel said, and later pulled a blanket over her as she slept, and looked up Denise Perkins' name from her address book. Angel then ran a search on 3 different computers in a library, bringing up an article on Denise with a rose tattoo on left shoulder, a crime report of a missing young woman, and a coroner's report with a close-up of the rose tattoo.**

"So he did get away with murder", Giles said in disgust.

**Angel walked through the sewers, hearing a moan, and ran up through the trap door, grabbing Tina to wake her as she ranted he was here while Angel asked if Denise had a tattoo, and Tina confirmed it was a rose. Angel confirmed she might be dead, as he Russell picked girls with no family and no one to care. Tina pulled away in fear as Angel tried to reassure her but she noticed Doyle's note lying over the sofa table, asking why he had that and if he knew who she was when he met her.**

"Uh-oh", Buffy said lamely, all of them having a sinking feeling.

"Should have kept it in his pocket, where she can't find it", Tara said.

**Tina started to pack up as Angel tried to explain, with Tina thinking Russell was playing a game, asking how much he'd paid Angel. Tina asked him to stay away from her and ran out of the apartment, the sun shining in through the windows. Angel grabbed her arm to stop her as she pulled him to the doors, direct sunlight hitting his arm as it went up in flames. Tina stared in horror as Angel vamped out, and ran out the doors, with Angel trying to follow but failing due to sunlight.**

"Oh no!" Willow said, all feeling bad this had happened.

"Now she is not going to come near him at all", Tara said.

"And that means this Russell can get to her easily", Xander sighed.

**Tina packed in her apartment, picking up a revolver, and turned to point at Russell who had arrived, saying he'd looked everywhere for her but she was here, and he owned most of the block, asking if she'd point the gun at him all day, and she asked about Denise.**

"Well crap", Xander said. "Now he's going to kill her too."

"Not if Angel gets there first", Willow said as all held their breaths, wondering if he would be able to save her.

**Tina asked the truth and he said he'd brought her a ticket to Penascola, and when Tina retorted she was dead, Russell said she'd called him yesterday, having gotten back to school and wanted him to pull some strings. He assured he didn't kill his friends, and could give her whatever she wanted, slowly taking the gun from her.**

"Emotional manipulation", Tara said. "He makes a good show."

"Yeah, I was almost convinced", Dawn agreed.

**Russell asked what she wanted, and she cried about wanting to go home, while he asked who'd lied to her, she said she thought he'd hired the guy, and his face had turned into the most horrible thing she'd seen, and then Russell vamped out. "Well, you're young."**

Now that startled them all as Buffy said. "Okay, didn't expect him to be one, he is not stuck in any weird fashion sense."

"Not all of them are like that", Giles said in agreement.

"Reach quickly, Angel!" Willow said.

**Russell leaned in to bite her as she gasped while Angel ran up to the apartment, opening the door to find Tina lying dead on the floor. He touched the bite marks on her neck and looked at the blood on his fingers.**

"No", Dawn said, all feeling sad for Tina having died.

"That bastard", Xander snarled about Russell. "And well, unfortunately, first mission ended up being a fail."

"So was mine when I first came to Sunnydale", Buffy reminded as Willow and Xander winced, knowing she was talking about Jesse. [2]

**Coroners zipped Tina in a body bag as Angel watched from a rooftop before jumping off and then stepped into his apartment, and told Doyle her attempted kidnapper at the party was called Stacy, a professional muscle who'd probably done time, and Doyle offered to ask around. Angel grabbed a phone book, describing the car and asking to call the chop shops, including ones not in the book, as Angel said the driver would lead him to Stacy and Stacy would lead him to Russell. Doyle assured Angel couldn't have known Tina would run out, but Angel didn't want to talk about it, and said he didn't want to open up or share his feelings, only find Russell and look him in the eye. "Then what?" Doyle asked. "Then I'm going to share my feelings", Angel said.**

"Feelings being a few left and right hooks and kicks to the face", Buffy said, all nodding, looking forward to Russell getting his comeuppance.

**At Russell's mansion, his lawyer Lindsey McDonald told him of a successful merger, while Russell looked at Tina's footage from the party, saying he was sorry to kill her soon.**

"No you weren't", Willow snarled, everyone glaring at him angrily.

**Lindsey took out a paper, saying Russell hadn't actually seen her in several weeks due to being in a conference yesterday, and a dark complexed man fled the scene with blood on his hands.**

"So his lawyers also protect him", Tara said.

**Russell was impressed as Lindsey said. "Wolfram & Hart is a full service law firm, Mr. Winters. It is our job - to see to it that our clients' lives run more smoothly."**

"Wolfram and Hart", Giles said, all seething. "Of course it's them."

"Different kind of bloodsuckers, right?" Tara asked and everyone nodded.

They still wondered why Team Angel had taken over now.

**Russell then saw a picture of Cordelia and wanted to meet her, with Lindsey asking if she would be long-term investment but Russell said he just wanted something to eat.**

"Hey come on! She is better than that!" Xander said and was shot weird looks. "Which is also a bad thing."

"Since Cordy was around after that, I think its clear Angel saved her", Willow said, and all felt relieved, though they knew she would be getting into trouble at least.

**Stacy was talking to a guy in the store when the window shattered due to a trashcan thrown by Angel, as he pushed him down a weight bench, asking about Russell's residence and security, though Stacy threatened him, but Angel told Stacy how Russell wasn't big on daylight and mirrors, and drank too much V-8. Stacy said Russell would kill anyone he cared about but Angel said there was none.**

"I don't think he actually means that", Willow said, on seeing Buffy's expression.

"I think he means no one in LA", Tara said. "Plus, you were broken up at the time."

"Guess so", Buffy sighed.

**Cordelia was sitting in her bed with eyes closed in Lotus position, trying to be positive but fell forwards, groaning about her hunger pangs sarcastically. The phone then rang as Cordelia jumped and grabbed it, as Margo saying she'd been a hit at the party and Russell Winters wanted to meet her tonight to help start her career, and would also send a Limo.**

"Using a Limo to get your food, there's a joke in there somewhere", Dawn said, and all had to admit it was funny, even if Cordy was their friend.

**Angel packed weapons in a black bag as Doyle commented he'd seen some wars in his time, and Angel said 14, not including Vietnam which was never declared.**

"Huh, never knew that", Xander said.

"I did", Willow popped up.

**Cordelia rode in the Limo, saying how people were attracted to her positive energy while Doyle wished Angel luck, saying he'd be with him in spirit, but Angel said he was driving. Doyle protested he was a messenger but Angel tossed him the bag, saying he was the message.**

"So, the messenger is going to drive the message", Giles commented, all finding the figure of speech funny.

**Cordelia was lead to Russell's room as he greeted her and the butler left, with Cordelia commenting she loved the curtains, and Russell said he'd old fashioned tastes.**

"Yeah, the house does look old fashioned", Buffy said, now everyone noticing it more clearly.

**Cordelia said she had a nice home and talked about it before saying the IRS had taken it all due to her folks never paying taxes.**

"Poor Cordy", Xander said, both sad and guilty, remembering when and how he'd found out about that.

**Russell asked if the acting career was going well and Cordy said she'd almost got a liquid gel commercial, while Angel's convertible drove to the gate, and he got out to talk to the guard, tossing his keys to Doyle. Angel distracted the guard, saying they were lost and asking what he was watching before knocking him out, and pulled the cable from the camera pointing at the gate, before taking off his light jacket and shirt and tossing them into the car, now dressed all in black, before getting his bag of weapons. Angel asked Doyle to tie the guard up while he'd either be out in 10 minutes or not at all.**

"Russell's going to get his ass kicked", Willow said with a smirk.

**Cordelia was talking to Russell while he assured she didn't have to worry anymore and asked what she wanted, when she apologized for getting weepy and looked around the room, noticing there were no mirrors and too many curtains "….hey, you're a Vampire!"**

"She just figured it out", Giles said, impressed.

"Well, she was smarter than any of us gave her credit for", Willow pointed out. "Like, remember the time she investigated and found out about Ted's past? And she did it better than us."

"Yeah, I do", Xander said.

"Thanks Cordy", Buffy said. [3]

**Russell denied but Cordelia was persistent saying. "Hey, I'm from Sunnydale. We had our own Hellmouth! I think I know a Vampire when I'm - alone with him… - in his fortress-like home. And you know, I think I'm just feeling a little light headed from hunger. I'm just wacky. And kidding! Ha, ha."**

"Come on Angel", Tara said, all getting nervous for Cordy, even though they knew she had made it out of this alive.

**Angel set an explosive charge while Russell said now they could skip formalities, vamping out as Cordelia ran, with Angel throwing a grappling hook up to the balcony and jumped over, and Doyle checked his watch, Cordelia continuing her run. Russell grabbed her with a growl when the fuse box blew and the lights went out, him letting go of her. "Russell Winters." "Angel?" Cordelia asked as he slowly stepped out of the dark at the end of the open landing. "I have a message for you- from Tina."**

"Now he is going to get his", Buffy said as everyone smirked.

"Kick his butt, Angel", Dawn agreed.

**Russell threatened Angel as Cordelia said. "You don't know who he is, do you? Oh, boy! You are about to get your ass kicked!"**

"Yep", Willow nodded.

**Angel pulled out a stake and charged as Russell disarmed him and they fought, Angel elbowing him back before trying to spin kick which he ducked to avoid. Angel tried to kick which he blocked but Angel kicked with his other foot, sending him back.**

"Now that looked cool", Dawn cheered, everyone waiting for Russell to be staked.

**The two struggled before Angel head-butted him away but was punched down while guard arrived, and Angel pulled the runner, tripping them all before getting up, and took a shot to the chest.**

Tara touched her chest, remembering the shot as Willow held her hand for comfort, the two smiling at each other before they turned to the screen again.

**Angel picked Cordelia up and turned as shots hit his back, and he jumped over the bannister to the floor below, Cordelia screaming as they ran out the front door. Doyle heard the shots and first tried to speed away, before stopping and turning back around, and charged the gate. The car hit and stopped, but the gate remained closed as Doyle groaned at its quality.**

"This is not a movie!" Giles said, everyone chuckling at his reaction.

**Angel and Cordelia came up to the car, the front dented and steaming as Doyle tried to talk about it. Cordelia got into the passenger seat while Angel fell into the back seat.**

"She is saved now", Tara said and all sighed in relief.

"But Russell didn't get staked", Buffy said. "I would have loved to see that happen."

"We all would", Xander said.

**Doyle dug the bullets out of Angel's chest as Cordelia joked about she was going to barf, dabbing at the wound with a piece of gauze as Angel flinched as she asked if she could go, and if Russell would look for her. They all just looked at each other.**

"Not done with him yet", Willow said.

**At Russell's building, he sat in a meeting, Lindsey telling him that local authorities had no details on the intruder who had broken into his home and started talking about private investigators, when the doors burst open and Angel walked in, Lindsey finishing about how they were looking for his whereabouts.**

"You were saying?" Buffy asked as all sat up straighter, looking forward to this.

**Lindsey barred Angel's way, handing him a business card. "I'm with Wolfram & Hart. Mr. Winters has never been accused and shall never be convicted of any crime – ever. Should you continue to harass our client, we will be forced to bring you into the light of day", Angel walked past him to Russell. "A place, I'm told, that isn't all that healthy for you."**

"No, it's deadly to him", Dawn corrected.

**Russell said they did things a certain way in LA while Angel said he was new here. Russell argued. "But you're a civilized man. We don't have to go around attacking each other. Look at me: I pay my taxes. I keep my name out of the paper, and I don't make waves. And in return I can so anything I want!"**

"Not anymore", Buffy snarled at him as they glared daggers into him.

**Angel put one foot on the chair between Russell's legs and leaned forward. "Really. Hmm. Can you fly?"**

"Is he going to do what I think he's going to do?" Xander asked.

**Angel kicked the chair backwards into the wall of windows behind Russell. Russell crashed through the window. He fell down screaming, catching fire and turned to dust. Angel heard the scream cut off. "Hmm. I guess not."**

"Okay, forget staking, this was so much better", Buffy said, everyone having looks of satisfaction on their faces.

"He's such a badass", Willow said, and no one disagreed.

**Angel walked out sticking Lindsey's business card into the front pocket of his jacket.**

"So, you were saying?" Dawn asked and all chuckled.

**The empty chair and glass hit the sidewalk as Lindsey pulled out his phone. "Set up an interoffice meeting for 4:00. Seems we have a new player in town. - No, no, there is any need to disturb the Senior Partners with this. Not yet."**

"The Senior Partners", Giles said. "The powers that run Wolfram and Hart."

"So this is how the archenemies meet", Buffy commented.

**Angel stared at the phone, then picked up and dialed a number, Buffy's voice coming from it. "Hello? Hello?" Angel then hung up.**

"So it was him", Buffy said in realization as she remembered the day.

"You remember that?" Xander asked.

"Yes, someone called me on my first day of college but no voice came. I thought it was him", Buffy said. "Now I know."

**Doyle asked what had happened to Russell as Angel joked he went into the light.**

Everyone chuckled as Tara said. "It didn't agree with him."

**Doyle said he didn't look to be in a celebrating mood while Angel said he only killed a Vamp, didn't help anyone, but Doyle said there was a happy girl upstairs.**

"Yes, he did save Cordelia", Buffy said.

**Then they heard a scream and rushed upstairs, Angel avoiding the sunlight while Cordelia said there was a cockroach and they needed to call an exterminator, with a name on the door, explaining if they were going to people, they should get some charge, for her to pay rent and it could be her salary. They needed someone to organize stuff after all. Angel asked if she wanted to charge people as Cordelia said they would meet rich people sometime, Doyle agreeing it could be a possibility.**

"So now they will charge money for saving lives", Xander shook his head.

"It's not like any of them have normal lives", Willow said. "Angel is a Vampire with a soul, Doyle is half Demon, and Cordelia's condition is poor, so it's better to get paid doing what you do best."

Xander shut up, deciding she was right.

**Cordelia said they could charge by a case-by-case analysis, and she would work for a flat fee, and asked if they could use her. After a moment, Angel handed her the box with a smile.**

"He can", Buffy said, happy that Angel had given Cordelia some work to stay on her feet.

**Cordelia said this was temporary till she became a star, and walked off, with Doyle saying Angel had made the right choice as she could provide a humanizing influence, but Angel pointed out he found her a hottie, which he didn't deny, but said she could use a hand.**

"Someone's got a crush", Dawn said as they all chuckled.

"I don't think I can really blame him", Xander said, and no one disagreed.

**Doyle pointed out more people in the city needed helping, and asked if Angel was game. At nighttime in LA, Angel looked out over the city. "I'm game." The screen went black.**

"Now that was a nice shot", Buffy said about it.

"Is it just me or is he like 'Vampire Batman'?" Willow asked.

"Now that you say it, he is", Giles said.

"You know about Batman?" Xander asked Giles.

"I am old, not dead", Giles said, all laughing at him.

"So, was this it?" Dawn asked.

Then they noticed the screen having the option to play another recording after it.

"I think there is quite a lot of it", Buffy said, all of them deciding to watch some more, even if they still didn't know why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's 'City Of' done, hope the reactions were enjoyed. 1 down, 109 to go, LOL! Funnily enough, my previous watch-it fic had a 109 chapters. It's a MCU watch-it fic in case you haven't read it titled 'A Beautiful Journey' and covers the films from Iron Man to Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home isn't canon in that story.
> 
> Also, I love Xander, he's overall my 9th favorite character in this verse, but he has a bias against both Angel and Spike. And I get he's wary, but many times he has crossed the line from being wary to being a bully, especially in Spike's case, so this is how I think he would react at first.
> 
> [1] Just a reference to David Boreanaz's bad accent, which is definitely not any kind of Irish.
> 
> [2] I found this an interesting symmetry. Both Buffy and Angel failed in their first notable missions of their Pilot episodes. Angel failed to save Tina here and she was killed, and Buffy failed to save Jesse who was turned into a Vamp.
> 
> [3] In 'Ted', Cordelia discovered Ted's past mostly by herself, showing herself to be a better investigator than Xander or Willow. Maybe it was foreshadowing of her eventual role in Angel Investigations.
> 
> So that's this one done, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	3. Lonely Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang witness Angel's first meeting with Kate Lockley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> Well, here we go with Episode 2.

"So next one is starting then", Buffy said as they watched it come on-screen.

"So, more of Team Angel then I guess", Willow said.

**Angel sat alone in his office as Doyle came in and turned on the lights, making Angel blink while he suggested going out to involve with people, since it was Friday night, so they should enjoy the nightlife instead of sitting in the dark like some kind of- "Some kind of vampire?" Angel asked but Doyle said he meant Slacker, and asked him to come on, so the three could have a night of fun. Angel said if Doyle wanted to ask Cordelia out, he could do it himself.**

"Busted", Dawn said as all laughed.

"Yeah, but he isn't wrong about all 3 needing some fun by themselves", Tara said, and everyone agreed with that too.

**Doyle said he'd no idea if she liked him, and asked Angel to put in a word for him about how great of a guy he was.**

"Yeah sure, even though he has known her for 3 years and you for only a week", Giles pointed out the irony, making everyone chuckle again.

**Angel pointed out he barely knew him and Doyle said that made it easier, before requesting not to reveal his half-Demon nature to her as women could be tricky about that.**

"Well, who knows in Cordelia's case?" Xander said.

"She was pretty shallow when we knew her", Dawn said. "But people change."

"She was changing before she left", Buffy said. "Now we're going to see it."

**Cordelia walked in, saying they were in, Doyle walking next to her, as she said it was the calling cards for people to reach them, and Doyle agreed it was a good idea, since there was no signal folks could shine in the sky to get their attention.**

Everyone chuckled again as Willow said. "Looks like they see the similarities with Batman too."

**Angel wondered why their number was next to a butterfly, and Doyle said it was a bird before correcting to an owl, but Cordelia said it was angel, and Doyle found it brilliant since it was obvious but clever too.**

"I think it is both obvious and clever", Tara said. "So Doyle is right, in spite of his crush."

**Cordy lightly tapped Doyle's chest with the back of her hand, making him double over in pain as she told him not to be a baby as she barely hit him. Doyle moaned and kicked the desk, falling back as he threw the cards up, Angel helping him as a dance club was shown.**

"So he's having a vision then", Willow realized.

**When Doyle recovered, he said he saw a bar which was stuck in the 80s, but got no faces, only a feeling that something would happen, and Angel said they were going out after all.**

"Got his wish then, just not in the way he expected", Buffy said.

**At a nightclub called D'Oblique, a girl with long blonde hair sat unhappily when a dark haired guy arrived, sitting next to her, and introduced themselves to each other. He was Kevin and she was Sharon, and they started chatting, with him giving strange looks.**

"Anyone feeling something off?" Xander asked and everyone nodded. "Good to know I'm not the only one."

**Kevin and Sharon talked at a table, saying how they thought they would meet someone special, also talking about Ken and Barbie, and she was impressed by him.**

"Smooth talker", Xander snorted.

"Jealous?" Willow asked as everyone chuckled.

**Angel, Cordelia and Doyle arrived and split up, with Cordelia handing Angel some calling cards. Angel walked to the bartender, asking if he'd seen anything unusual, and he said it was early and the hot women didn't mosey until 11:00. Cordelia handed a bunch of people their calling cards, before Doyle pulled her away, telling her they needed to stay below radar as their service might make people think of the V-word. Cordelia thought he meant Vampire but he corrected 'Vigilante', and there were laws against that, so they needed more casual chat, including 'minions from hell getting ya down?'**

"Hi, I'm Xander Harris, are minions from Hell chasing you and getting you down?" Xander joked as everyone laughed.

"When it comes to supernatural, we are the law", Buffy said. "Not them."

"Yes, but in LA, the supernatural and real world mesh a lot more than they did at Sunnydale", Giles pointed, and everyone conceded.

**Cordelia said she was an actress, so she could tell people's stories just by looking at them. She pointed at a dancing guy and said he had a Peter Pan complex and was a mama's boy, then pointed at a blonde girl and said she was a self-absorbed closet-dud, and then pointed at Sharon leaving with Kevin, saying she was rich to snag the Calvin Klein model she was leaving with.**

"I think that's the trouble Doyle was warned about", Dawn said.

"And they just left", Buffy groaned.

**Cordelia asked how Angel was, and he was standing by the bar, a guy walking away shaking his head as Angel promised he wasn't hitting on him.**

All chuckled as Xander said. "So he's faring even worse."

**A blonde girl asked Angel if he was okay, saying he looked bad, but also very nice, and decided to have her drink. He thanked her, and she asked for thinking if he looked bad or good, and he asked her to choose, introducing himself as Angel, and she introduced herself as Kate.**

"Wait, I think I know her", Buffy said.

"From where?" Willow asked.

"Right, I remember now!" Buffy said. "But I won't tell you who she is."

"Why?" Dawn asked.

"Spoiler", Buffy smirked

"You're evil", Dawn told her as she gave a fake innocent smile.

**Kate inquired if he came here a lot, and Angel said it was his first time, and she said she preferred cool bars, but couldn't get into them, and Angel said he was looking for someone to rescue. Kate stared in disbelief, saying it was the strangest line she'd heard all night, while Angel said it wasn't one, and that he wasn't good at talking.**

"We can see that", Tara said, everyone chuckling.

"Guess broody guys aren't as cool as they look", Willow said.

"Now you realize that?" Xander asked.

**Kate said she didn't need rescuing and had given up on her knight in shining armor, and didn't expect to find one here among the international house of posers. Angel said people could surprise, and she said she sounded like a hypocrite since she ragged on this place while coming almost every night, as it was this or home alone in the dark. Angel said he wouldn't want that.**

"But that's all you have", Buffy said sadly.

**Kate asked his occupation, and he said he was a veterinarian, and Kate said how a man who loved animals could be trusted.**

"Yes, mostly", Buffy said. "Though the joke he isn't one."

**Doyle asked Cordelia if she had all figured out, but she said she didn't get him, due to his visions, and he said they were messages from higher powers as his gift. Cordelia said if those were her gifts, she'd return them due to the headaches.**

"Wouldn't say I'd blame either of them", Willow said.

**She then said he did a thing with his face, surprising him while she added his visions were lame due to being vague, self-destructing tapes with a dossier would be better.**

Everyone chuckled as Xander said. "You'd get those if this was Mission: Impossible and Doyle Tom Cruise."

**A blonde guy arrived with the calling card, asking if Cordelia was passing them, and he asked if he could ring Cordelia for a date. Doyle said she minded, but Cordelia said this was a business card to offer services to people in need. He said he needed some service, asking if she charged by the hour.**

"So he's a sleaze", Xander snarled as everyone glared at him.

**Doyle said she was with him but she said she wasn't as the blonde guy insulted him. Kate told Angel she had a hard time trusting people, especially since in a place like this no one would reveal their true colors, and she didn't get what they were looking for. Angel asked what she was looking for and said it depended on how much she had, but realized she came off as a drunken slut, but it was better than hypocrite so she was moving up.**

"She doesn't seem to be the most social person herself", Giles said.

**Angel said she was too hard on herself, and again asked what she was looking for and she said she was trying to make a connection, though it was harder now. Angel said he had no idea what he was looking for and Kate asked if he'd like to go somewhere quieter. Angel said he needed to stay.**

"Trouble's gone though, so you don't need to stay either", Dawn said.

**Doyle tried to pacify the situation as another guy arrived, and the blonde guy said Cordy was a hooker while her pimp was giving him a hard time.**

"And you got that how?" Willow asked, speaking for everyone, who were angry.

**Cordelia wanted to fight but Doyle stopped her, saying violence wouldn't solve a thing, and head-butted the blonde guy, saying things were festive. The three started fighting.**

"Imagine if he had his spiky face when he head-butted him", Xander said and all cringed at how painful it would be.

**The other guy punched Doyle and the previous one grabbed him but was elbowed and tossed away, while the other one punched Doyle again. The bartender arrived to break it up but was punched away. Angel came up and grabbed the chair away from the blond guy as he got ready to hit Doyle with it. He used the chair to block the blond guy's punches, then broke his nose.**

"Owww", Dawn repeated what Cordelia had said as it looked painful.

**Angel was attacked by the other guy but threw him into the wall. Both guys went up against Angel but he held them off easily. Then he and Doyle threw them into a pile and the bartender stepped between them as Cordelia said the two jerks started it.**

"Yeah they did, and got what they deserved", Buffy said, everyone enjoying their beat down.

**They tried to protest but the bartender ushered them out, saying they made a nuisance every time.**

"Considering they punched even him, I doubt he'd take their side", Xander said.

**A starry-eyes girl walked to Angel and Doyle, asking if Angel was okay. Doyle thought she was talking to him and replied but then saw she was talking to Angel and walked off with Cordelia, while Angel asked if she was okay, and she said it was up to him to find out, standing away.**

"Poor Doyle", Buffy said.

"And she knows how to flirt", Xander pointed out.

"Take some pointers", Tara said as Xander sputtered, all laughing at him again.

**Angel started talking with the girl, as Kate watched dejected and then walked out, Angel watching her leave as he chatted with the girl.**

"Guess she wanted something more", Tara said.

"Yeah, but I doubt it would really work out", Willow said.

"No it wouldn't", Buffy said firmly.

"You still won't tell us what you know?" Dawn asked.

"Nope", Buffy said.

"I am thinking it will be more exciting when we see it for ourselves", Giles said.

"He gets it", Buffy told Dawn.

**Sharon and Kevin lay in bed together, having made love, though she didn't look happy, and sat up, with Kevin saying he'd just want to hold her, and wrapped his arms around her.**

"What will he do, bear hug her to death?" Xander asked.

"No idea, let's watch", Buffy told him.

**At the bar, Angel said he still didn't believe Doyle's vision was to break up a bar fight. Angel asked if anyone here needed help, and Cordelia said everyone. Angel said the socializing was brutal, as nothing was like this when he went to bars, and Doyle said he only went to taverns in small towns where all knew each other, and Cordelia said dating was easier in high school as there was a lot in common, including being monster food every other week.**

"You're in the world of grown-ups now", Tara said, and everyone felt it hit home, since their struggles looked very real and adult in comparison to the ones the group had in high school.

**Doyle said all were strangers with secrets in the big city and the bartender arriving, saying the place was shutting down. Cordelia said the single life would be very hard on Angel, as now he can't sleep without being perfectly happy and going evil and killing, and Angel said he appreciated her perspective. Cordelia joked how the last thing she wanted was to come to office to see she worked for a homicidal maniac now, and they got up and left.**

"She is brutally honest", Giles said.

"She thinks it, she says it", Buffy described Cordelia.

**Sharon sat on the edge of the bed, with Kevin looking dead.**

Everyone looked shocked as Dawn asked. "So she's the big bad."

"Looks like it", Buffy said.

**Cordelia looked up stuff on a computer while Doyle looked through papers, as Doyle was whacked, and Angel spelled D'Oblique for Cordelia, with Doyle doing it instead. Angel asked how he'd picked up computer skills, and Cordelia said he downloaded pictures of naked women.**

"I don't think he appreciates that", Buffy said.

"Who would?" Xander asked.

**Doyle noted they had 2 hits, one was a Heather Nolan who had gone missing last month after visiting the bar, and the second was a badly mutilated body of a Martin Haber, and he had last been seen at the bar with a female companion.**

"So the girl has been doing this stuff for quite a while", Tara noted.

**Angel said there must be more disappearances, and asked them to use the library downstairs, while Angel decided to go to the bar to see if he could meet a killer.**

"Maybe you could", Xander shrugged.

**Angel ran into Kate near the nightclub and apologized for last night before warning her to not go in as it might not be safe, and she said she had a trust problem, which he wasn't helping. Angel replied he was going in there too, and she said she could go wherever she wanted while he could go to hell. She walked into the bar as Angel said. "Been there, done that."**

"Yeah, guess the phrase won't work here", Xander said.

**Kate walked to the bar, sitting next to a blonde girl chatting with a guy, as Angel arrived, sitting further down, the two looking at each other for a moment before she turned away.**

"As long as there is no trouble, she's safe", Willow said.

"But she won't like him in that case", Tara pointed out.

**Kate said to the blonde next to her some guys had problems, and the blonde turned around, revealing herself to be Sharon, now a glamorous chick before turning back to her date.**

"She's changed her look completely", Dawn said.

"Probably to avert suspicion from herself in case people describe her", Willow suggested.

**She chatted up her date, who said how he was a geek with a geek toy gang back in the day and couldn't get a date, while she told him high school was over now.**

"It's just toys, right?" Buffy asked and all nodded. "Good."

**Kate looked to Angel who sipped a coke while a guy arrived, asking the bartender about Kevin who said he didn't show, and the guy said he didn't show up to work or answer calls, making the bartender mention the girl he'd hooked up with, and Angel asked who it was.**

"Let's just hope she gets caught soon", Giles said.

**At Angel's office, Cordy and Doyle looked through books with Doyle pointing at a flesh eating Demon, and Cordelia said they were disgusting, saying how one wore a wreath of intestines, but Doyle pointed out some could be really nice too given the opportunity, but Cordelia said slime aside, they didn't have much going on.**

"Well, she has yet to meet Clem", Buffy said.

"He's fun and all that, but he's not good looking either", Willow pointed out.

"Yeah, but she'd like him", Buffy said.

**The bartender told Angel it was Sharon, a regular, and the guy said how Kevin was scraping at the barrel's bottom, with Angel asking where he could find Sharon. The bartender replied she's here with another guy called Screech, and turned to look at her, but she was gone, with Angel inquiring more about her, and the guy said it was 'Richler', with Angel leaving as he looked her up in the phone book. Kate watched him from her seat in the bar as Angel found Sharon's name, ripped off the page and left.**

"So she's onto him", Tara noted.

"More to her than meets the eye then", Willow said.

**Sharon and Screech lay in bed staring at the ceiling, with Screech apologizing about his performance as Sharon asked him to roll over, and he did as she cuddled behind him, with Angel running down the street.**

"Anyone remember that Kevin wanted to hold her before?" Xander asked. "And now she's cuddling."

"Yeah, it's really off", Buffy agreed, all knowing there was something that didn't add up so far.

**Then suddenly a reptile creature emerged Sharon's chest and started burrowing into Screech's back who screamed.**

"Oh!" Buffy said, everyone groaning. "So she's a literal snake. Sort of."

"Looks like it", Dawn muttered.

"Even I did not expect that", Giles said.

**Angel burst through the apartment door, realizing he got in, and looked around, finding Sharon lying dead like a week-old corpse.**

"So she's the dead one now", Tara noted.

**Angel turned to see the tail end of the reptile burrowing into Screech's back as he put on his sweater.**

"I get it now", Giles said as all turned to him. "This reptile demon is going from body to body, possessing people and then leaving them behind. It is called a Burrower."

"So the Burrower first took over Kevin, then Sharon and now Screech", Xander summed up.

"It has killed many people already, it needs to be stopped quickly", Buffy said.

**Screech commented how Angel wasn't human while Angel replied Screech himself was off the evolutionary chart, and asked him to stop, but Screech said he would when he found the right body to stay with, and there was nothing wrong with this one yet. "But it won't last. I already know it's not the one I can live in." "Well, then it'll have to be the one you die in", Angel replied.**

"Hopefully", Dawn said.

**Screech attacked as Angel punched him back but Screech blocked the next blow and elbowed Angel down, then slid him into the wall. Angel got up, vamping out, and dodged Screech's blow, punching him. Screech blocked the next one and punched Angel, pushing him into a wall. The two continued fighting, struggling with each other before Angel slammed Screech into the wall and kneed him but was slammed into the bookshelf.**

"They seem equally strong so far", Buffy said.

"Which makes the fight harder", Willow added.

**Screech threw Angel across the room, shattering a lamp, and when Angel looked up, Screech was gone.**

"Oh no!" Tara said, everyone disappointed Screech hadn't been caught this time.

"Now he'll kill more", Dawn groaned.

**Suddenly, Kate burst in as Angel got up, turning to face her with his normal face.**

All sighed in relief.

**Angel asked why she was here before she noticed the body, and cocked her gun at Angel, revealing a police badge.**

"So she's a cop?" Willow asked, voicing everyone's surprise and Buffy nodded. "And that's what you were holding out on us?"

"Thought it'd be more exciting if you found out on your own", Buffy said.

"Yeah, guess you're right", Dawn said.

"Well, it was pretty surprising without knowing, so thanks for not telling", Xander said, Buffy smiling.

"But Angel has been caught with a body now", Giles reminded and the light atmosphere plummeted.

"By a cop of all people", Tara added.

**Kate said she'd been tracking Angel since last night, while Angel said he was after the guy too, Kate asking if he was an investigator too, and Angel saying he was more or less. When Kate asked for his license, he said that was the less part.**

"I mean, he started like a week ago", Willow said.

"She doesn't know that", Tara pointed out.

**Kate accused Angel of being behind it all, asking how he got them to trust him, and Angel said the killer gave them hope of loneliness ending. Kate still didn't trust him and started handcuffing him, when he apologized. She asked if he was confessing but he said for this. He kicked back, knocking her down and sprinted for the open window. She got up and shot four times as he dove headfirst out the window to land on the hood of a car parked below, setting off its alarm. He rolled off and ran off down the street as Kate watched from the window.**

"I think he just made himself a fugitive from the law", Xander said.

"Yeah, he did, and the only way to get back in their good graces is to find the real killer", Buffy said.

**Cordelia and Doyle arrived at her apartment, Doyle commenting on the mess, with Cordelia telling him not to start, when Doyle picked a bra and held it to his chest with Cordelia taking it away impatiently, sarcastically saying how she wore bras and had girlie parts in high school.**

"I think he wants to try it on", Dawn said, making everyone laugh.

**Doyle said her living like this meant she lived in the moment, then stepped on a dirty cereal bowl, calling her disgusting.**

All laughed again as Buffy said. "Should have expected that when you entered the house."

"It's like when Ross went into Cheryl's apartment, just not as bad", Dawn pointed out, all agreeing.

**There was a knock on the door as Cordelia opened to see Angel, Doyle reminding her that Vamps needed to be invited. Cordelia jokingly asked Angel to promise he won't turn evil before inviting him in.**

Everyone chuckled as Buffy said. "Same old Cordy."

**Angel then informed the two Kate was a cop and now thought he was the killer before he looked around at Cordelia's apartment, asking if she lived here, and Cordelia indignantly made some excuses.**

"Well, you can offer her a better place", Willow reminded. "Yours."

**Angel said it was a Burrower which eviscerated the victim moving from body to body, and could only do it after the exchange of fluids, to Cordelia's disgust.**

"Ewww", everyone in the room went, repeating Cordelia's gesture, while Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them.

**Angel asked them to find a weakness while he'll look for it, as it would still be trying to make a connection, like lonely people did.**

"And he knows how it feels", Buffy said sadly.

"It's a lonely life for him, Cordelia and Doyle are all he's got for now", Tara said.

" **Touched" by Vast played as Screech talked to another woman, Kate investigated Angel's office, and Angel looked around the nightclub for Screech. Screech ended up sleeping with the other woman and the Burrower came out of his chest, entering the girl, who was then shown with an evil smirk.**

"And another one goes down", Willow said sadly. "This thing is just sick and twisted, alongside lonely."

**Angel returned to Cordelia's apartment, finding her and Doyle slumped over asleep.**

"They look so cute, don't they?" Dawn asked, making everyone chuckle.

**They woke as Angel said he would recognize it if he saw it somewhere, and Cordelia said it was a Talamour having been around since the dawn of time, with a weakness for fire, just like Angel.**

"It's been around for that long, didn't expect that", Giles said.

**Cordelia and Doyle described it before Angel said he'd need Kate's help to find it because she'd been tracking it a lot longer than them.**

"So, call the cop trying to catch you, great plan", Xander said sarcastically.

"If she's a good cop, it is", Willow said.

**Kate got a call from Angel, saying he'd help her find the killer, and asked her to meet him at the bar at 7:00, saying she could come wired and covered by sharpshooters to feel safe, and if she still thought he was the killer after that, she could arrest him.**

"Not a bad offer", Buffy said. "She should take it."

"She looks like she just might", Tara said.

**Kate sat at the bar, telling him to let her know if Angel came, while a guy sat next to her, chatting her up.**

"It has to be him!" Dawn said. "Must be!"

**The bartender said Angel was in the alley and they walked out, Kate drawing her gun while handing the bartender a card, and was about to call for backup when the bartender knocked her out with a wine bottle.**

"It's him!" Dawn said, all alarmed now. "Oh no!"

**He pulled up her jacket and ripped her T-shirt to the middle, the reptile popping out when a board to the head threw him off, Angel helping Kate.**

Everyone sighed in relief as Willow said. "Now the burrower is getting burrowed 6 feet deep."

All looked at her weirdly as she asked. "Too corny?"

They nodded as she muttered. "I am losing my charm."

"Not to me", Tara said as they smiled at each other.

**The bartender slammed a keg down on them as Angel pulled Kate out of harm's way, then kicked and punched the bartender, looking at the flap of loose skin where the board had hit him. "I guess you're done with that body."**

"All bodies", Buffy said.

**The bartender slammed Angel into the fence as he slammed his head back in the others face, then held on to the fence and swung up his legs and wrapped them around the bartender's neck. Kate stared as he twisted his body throwing the bartender to the floor. Getting up between Angel's legs the bartender lifted him up and slammed him into the wall, then tossed him through the door into a storage room. Angel caught the doorframe to keep from falling backwards down the stair behind him, but the bartender threw Kate into him. They tumbled down the stairs, Angel trying to cushion Kate's fall, as the bartender slammed the door shut.**

"And he escapes again", Xander groaned.

"Not for too long though", Buffy said.

**Angel and Kate decided to follow, as the bartender tried to push the flap back into place, before walking to a young blonde, trying to act cool, but his disgusting condition made her leave, and the same happened with another girl while Angel tried to break the door.**

"No skin, no charm", Buffy quipped.

**Angel helped Kate up while the bartender tried to chat up another girl, and Angel decided to go out through the window, Kate pointing out it was 30 feet up. Angel pulled out his grappling gun.**

"Vampire Batman to the rescue", Dawn said, making everyone laugh.

**He aimed it at an angled support beam next to the window. He triggered the release and the hook shot up and wrapped itself around the beam, Kate getting curious. Angel gave the rope a good pull and the beam came crashing down.**

"Epic fail", Dawn said with a face palm as all groaned.

**They looked at each other, then Kate bent down and pulled a hold-out gun out of her boot. She shot the lock of the door and they hurried out.**

"She couldn't have done that earlier?" Tara asked.

"Maybe she wanted him to look like an idiot", Xander said.

**The bartender stumbled to the front, a girl gasping at how his skin was peeling off from patches of his face, Angel and Kate splitting up.**

"Now he has no game at all", Willow said.

**The bartender dragged a blonde girl into an alley, when Angel launched himself feet first into him, knocking him away. The girl ran. Angel flipped the bartender over a crate and kicked him. They fought, but even though the guy was falling apart he was still stronger than Angel, not even feeling it when Angel threw him into the wall.**

"Come on Angel", Buffy said.

**He grabbed Angel and tried to force his head into the burning barrel. Angel managed to spin away and threw the bartender back into the alley. He got right back up and they kept fighting. The bartender pretty much cleaned the floor with Angel. He threw Angel again towards the burning barrel and ran to jump on top of Angel laying on the ground. Angel used his foot to catapult him over his head. The bartender overturned the burning barrel and caught fire. Now a living torch he stumbled towards an Angel that was desperately trying to move, but was too beat to more then watch him coming.**

"Do something!" Willow said.

**Kate arrived, shooting the bartender as he stumbled to the ground, as Angel collapsed finally.**

Everyone released a breath they didn't realize they had been holding.

**Later, a fire truck, ambulance and police car arrived, the body being wheeled away as Kate said it must be the bartender.**

"So now the Burrower ruined the bartender's good name", Tara said, all feeling bad for him.

**Kate said she never thanked him for saving her life, but he said saving his was a good start, and she told him she searched his place illegally, as a way to start fresh with no secrets, joking he did weird stuff for a veterinarian.**

Everyone chuckled as Dawn said. "So now he has an ally in the law."

Buffy frowned though, wondering what exactly had happened which had lead Kate from being friends with Angel to being willing to kill him.

**Angel gave her his card, her asking if it was a lobster on it.**

Everyone burst out laughing.

**Angel walked off, while Kate was called by a superior for a chat, and when she turned around, Angel was gone, and Kate turned back to the guy.**

"And now he's being Batman again", Dawn said, making everyone laugh.

**Angel walked down the road to his office, telling Cordelia and Doyle they could go for a night out due to all they had done. Cordelia said they could go home instead, and Doyle told him to sit in the dark alone, both leaving, and Angel breathed a sigh of relief, sitting down at his desk as the lights went off, Cordelia and Doyle walking out.**

Everyone chuckled again as Dawn said. "So the Burrower is killed, Angel had a friend in the police department, and the day is saved."

Xander added. "And no more night outs for these three."

"Or maybe a lot more", Buffy said, coming to the next recording.

"Guess so", Willow said, deciding they should watch at least 2 more before they got too tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we end 'Lonely Heart' and next up is…..SPIKE! AND OZ! Oh yeah!
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	4. In The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The viewers watch Spike attempt to reclaim the Ring of Amarra from Angel. Buffy and Willow are pained to see Spike and Oz respectively again, and Dawn is disturbed, since she only ever knew puppy Spike, not big bad Spike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> And well, this year just gets more and more tragic. RIP Jeremy Bulloch, the man who made Boba Fett iconic.

"So far, they seem to be getting on their feet well", Willow commented about Angel, Cordelia and Doyle.

"Yeah, but clearly something bad happened, and watching all of these is what will make us understand why", Buffy said, the third recording finally starting.

**A blonde girl ran in the darkness, hiding, and when the coast was clear, tried to run again, only for her boyfriend Lenny to grab her and shove her back, accusing her of humiliating him, and she asked him if he was on something sweetly, only for him to slap her down.**

"That bastard", Xander snarled, everyone getting angry.

**Rachel asked what he'd do, saying someone would hear her scream here, only for Lenny to take out a gun, saying no one would hear her in downtown LA at this time, and apologized, saying he couldn't take it anymore.**

"Can't take hitting your girlfriend anymore so you're killing her?" Tara asked in disgust.

"This is not the first time I've seen stuff like this, unfortunately", Buffy said, and Willow, Xander, Dawn and Giles immediately knew she was referring to Pete and Debbie in the final year of high school.

**Angel grabbed Lenny from behind, making him drop his gun. "Poor Lenny. The burden of terrorizing your girlfriend too much for you?"**

Everyone sighed in relief as Dawn said. "Now he'll get his."

**Angel hit him. "Lucky for you, I can make it stop." Lenny grabbed a 2x4 and tried to hit Angel. Angel ducked and cold cocked him.**

Everyone watched in satisfaction as Buffy said. "What? Can't fight someone who can fight back?"

"I bet if she fought back, he'd run in fear too", Willow said.

"Yes, because that's what cowards do", Giles agreed.

**Angel helped Rachel up, who was surprised he'd actually shown up, and he reminded that was the deal. From up above a building, someone watched and dubbed over the conversation in a high voice. "How can I thank you, you mysterious, black-clad hunk of a night thing?" His voice turned low as he imitated Angel. "No need, little lady, your tears of gratitude are enough for me. You see, I was once a badass vampire, but love and a pesky curse defanged me. Now I'm just a big, fluffy puppy with bad teeth." It was Spike.**

Buffy watched with a dropped jaw, not having expected to see him here, and she felt her heart skip a beat on seeing him. Something which everyone noted.

"We can stop for now if you want", Tara offered Buffy, who seemed to come out of her trance.

"No, go on", Buffy said, shaking her head.

"You sure?" Xander asked.

"This isn't the Spike I loved, this is when he was a bad guy", Buffy reminded, trying to control herself. "I can deal with it."

Everyone knew she couldn't and was just saying this to reassure them, but her choice.

**Rachel stepped closer to Angel, and Angel stepped back warding her off with his hands as Spike said. "No, not the hair! Never the hair!" His voice turned high to imitate the girl. "But there must be someway I can show my appreciation." His voice turned low to imitate Angel. "No, helping those in need's my job,... and working up a load of sexual tension, and prancing away like a magnificent poof is truly thanks enough!" His voice turned high again. "I understand. I have a nephew who is gay, so..." His voice turned low. "Say no more. Evil's still afoot! And I'm almost out of that Nancy-boy hair-gel that I like so much. Quickly, to the Angel-mobile, away!" Angel lead Rachel away.**

At this point, everyone was in hysterics, even Buffy, due to Spike's dubbing.

"Okay, evil yes, but hilarious too", Willow said.

"Too hilarious", Dawn added, still laughing.

"And even he agrees Angel is Vampire Batman", Xander said, making everyone laugh more.

"Angel's hair is funny", Giles added, and there were more chuckles.

**Spike lit a cigarette and smoked it. "Go on with you. Play the big, strapping hero while you can. You have a few surprises coming your way... The Ring of Amarra... a visit from your old pal Spike,... and, oh yeah,... your gruesome, horrible death." He smiled.**

"So this is during the Ring of Amarra mess, huh", Willow noted.

"Must be after I beat him and asked Oz to deliver the Ring", Buffy said.

"I'm guessing we'll be seeing him too in this then", Tara said, and Willow realized it would be a little weird for sure.

"He sounds sadistic", Dawn muttered, never having met Spike when he was this way.

But they were mature adults so not too weird.

**Oz drove in his van, listening to the radio before stopping in front of Angel's apartment.**

"Oz", Willow whispered, this being the first time she had seen his face since his departure all those years ago. While she loved Tara, she would always care about Oz too, and he was her first real love, which would never change.

"You okay to watch?" Tara asked her. While she and Oz hadn't really had the best interactions, what with him unintentionally turning wolf to kill her, she knew he and Willow loved each other as well before she came, and she respected that.

"Yeah, I am", Willow said, giving Tara a smile.

**Cordelia typed on the computer as Doyle read a newspaper. Cordelia was happy as they had got their first walk-in client, with Angel saving girl-in-distress from druggy/stalker boyfriend. She pulled the paper out of the printer and showed it to Doyle. "Invoice! Tada!"**

Everyone chuckled as Xander said. "Sometimes, she is evil, other times, she is sweetly infectious."

"Which you know from first-hand experience", Dawn told him and he nodded.

"And they got their invoice", Buffy said, happy for them.

"Not payment though", Giles reminded.

**Doyle didn't look impressed, reminding this wasn't money, but Cordelia said she had to pay, but Doyle was skeptic, saying they'd need many more clients if they were going to take a cruise to the Bahamas, with Cordelia adding also an alternate reality where he was Matthew McConaughey.**

Everyone chuckled as Tara said. "She doesn't look like one to be messed with."

"Nope, no can do", Buffy said, remembering the time she had tricked the cowboy Vamp into thinking she was an even more dangerous Slayer then Buffy, and sent him packing.

**Oz then arrived. "Hello, LA." Cordelia looked happy as she hugged him, saying his name repeatedly, while Doyle jokingly guessed he was Oz, and Oz said it was a good guess. Cordelia found it cool that he was in LA while being an embodiment of Sunnydale.**

"She looks very happy to see him", Xander said.

"Always nice to meet old friendly faces from high school when your life is at a crossroads", Buffy said, and no one could disagree.

**Cordelia asked how the Bronze, Oz saying it was the same, and the gang was good too. They looked at each other for a moment and Oz asked. "Are we done?" "Completely", Cordelia said as Doyle coughed.**

"Guess they aren't that good of friends", Dawn said.

"Well, Oz wasn't very close to the rest of you", Willow said to the group. "Though you all did like him a lot."

"Yeah, he wasn't, but he was nice", Buffy said. "And a sweet guy. Boyfriend material for sure."

"You like him too or what?" Dawn asked.

"No! I mean, not in that way, but he was a great guy, and definitely the kind a woman would want to be with", Buffy said as she turned to Willow. "You attract the most amazing of people."

"Thank you", Willow said.

"Thank you", Tara said too, smiling, as she had been complimented as well.

"Other than Kennedy", Buffy added.

"Yeah", Willow groaned, not a fan of her anymore.

**Oz and Doyle greeted each other, with Oz asking if they were detectives, but Cordelia said she was an actress, Doyle adding she was captivating too, and Cordelia said she helped out between her gigs.**

"Non-existent gigs", Dawn said.

**They said he was the detective, Oz jokingly asking if he had a hat and gun, but Cordelia said just fangs, as Oz said that worked and then asked where he was.**

"Detective with Fangs, there's a joke there somewhere", Xander said.

**Angel read a book downstairs as Cordelia, Doyle and Oz arrived, Angel surprised to see Oz as he told him he was staying for a few days, and Doyle asked if they were always like this, but Oz said they were usually laconic.**

"Okay, I know its ironic coming from me, but I like him", Tara said about Oz.

"Makes sense", Willow said. "You two aren't very different really."

"Maybe if circumstances were different, the two of us could have been nice friends", Tara said. [1]

**Oz held out the Ring of Amarra, Doyle surprised, as Angel took it after a moment, Oz explaining Buffy wanted him to have it.**

"There it is", Xander said.

Buffy just thought about how the tables had turned now. Back then, she had wanted to protect an artefact from Spike and give to Angel, now recently she had chosen Spike to use another artefact over Angel.

**Cordelia asked how Buffy was, asking if she was still the brave little Slayer or moping around in the dark like nobody here, adding the 'nobody' due to a look from Angel.**

"I don't think I'm mopey", Buffy said.

"Not to Angel's extent at least", Willow said.

**Oz said she was good, and she was Buffy.**

"Best way to describe you", Dawn said, making everyone chuckle.

**Doyle asked Angel to put on the ring, explaining to Cordelia it made the wearer unkillable to everything, Oz saying Spike dug it up, but got a fist full of Buffy and left it behind, her wanting it in good hands.**

"Fist full of Buffy", Xander joked, holding up his fist. No one laughed. "I'll shut up."

**Angel noted Buffy had sent him, and Oz said he was heading this way. Cordelia commented on how Buffy didn't send a note, before saying she should just shy away now.**

"What's the need to send a note?" Buffy asked. "I sent Oz, he can explain it all in one line."

Everyone laughed again, because it was true.

**Doyle picked up a stake, asking Angel to put it on while he'd stake him, but Angel said later, clearly not enthusiastic.**

"Well, he's excited", Xander said sarcastically.

**Doyle walked to the elevator, saying he'd still celebrate with a drink at the pub, and Cordelia joked to Oz how he'd celebrate a mailbox opening similarly, before walking away with him, with Oz also leaving. Angel went down to the sewers and hid the ring under a loose brick next to a pipe.**

"So, he's keeping it away there?" Dawn asked. "He can use it."

"He doesn't want to", Buffy said. "Power corrupts. And he knows it well."

"Not well enough it seems", Giles popped up, clearly referring to recent events. No one else commented.

**Next day, Cordelia and Doyle sat at the office, Doyle joking how he wants a vision to die while Cordelia told him to lay off the ale and not quote Angela's Ashes or weep like a baby man. Doyle said it was a great book while Cordelia reminded how he called Oz her little Bam-bam.**

Everyone laughed at that as Willow said. "I really want to see that now."

"We all do", Xander said.

**Angel was doing Tai-chi in his apartment.**

"He has gotten even better at it than when we used to train together", Buffy commented.

**The phone rang and Angel picked up, Rachel telling him Lenny had been let out on a technicality, so he left for her.**

"And now he is out", Giles said, all groaning.

"These technicalities", Tara sighed.

**Angel walked to his car in the underground garage when a beam smashed his face, sending him to the wall as Spike appeared in Vamp face. "Angel. I believe you have something I'm looking for... a shiny, little bauble?" Angel got up. "Might as well go home, Spike. The gem of Amarra stays with me."**

"So now we're gonna see Angel and Spike fight", Dawn said excitedly. "I always wanted to see that."

Everyone shot her weird looks again as she said. "I hate you all."

**Spike swung at Angel with the board. Angel caught it, hit Spike across the chin, in the stomach, and then kicked him to the floor. Spike slowly got back up, board in hand, mocking his profession and joked about Vampire cowboys, Vampire firemen and Vampire ballerinas.**

"Vampire firemen doesn't really sound like it would be a thing", Willow said.

"Vampire ballerina though", Xander said and all laughed.

"And cowboys", Dawn added, everyone laughing more.

**He charged Angel with the beam who said he liked to work with his legs. He grabbed an overhead pipe and swung both feet into Spike's chest.**

"That was cool", Dawn said.

Buffy was pretty uncomfortable watching the fight. While she had moved on from Angel, she would always care about him, and this was back when Spike was evil, but she loved him now, so watching this was just weird and awkward.

**Spike quickly picked himself back up and kept stabbing at Angel with the beam, while Angel danced around him like a boxer, dodging the board. Spike tried to pin him onto the hood of the car but Angel kicked him off, taking the beam a way form him in the process. Angel pinned him to the car with the beam and asked if a fight was his strategy, but Spike said he had a plan, he just got bored of waiting. Spike threw Angel to the door.**

"Yeah, that I can believe", Buffy said, the Scoobies remembering he had attacked the school before the time he had said he would do it.

**Angel turned around in Vamp face. "It wouldn't go with your outfit." He hit Spike around for a while and finally threw him against the wall just as Cordelia and Doyle ran in behind Angel. Spike greeted Cordelia, commenting on her weight loss, as she started replying about a gym before realizing who he was. "Hey!"**

Everyone chuckled as Willow said. "Now I want to see them talk more." [2]

**Spike ran off, saying he'd get the ring while Cordelia asked Angel if he was okay, and he turned around in Vamp face, telling Doyle the ring was fine as he turned to normal and asked him to take Cordelia to his place as Spike could burn her place to the ground. Angel told the two he'd find Spike first and they left as he wiped the blood at the corner of his mouth.**

"Everyone's on high alert now", Tara said.

**Doyle talked on the phone, trying to track down Spike before marking a Frankie Tripod in his address book, Cordelia wondering if he was a 3-legged creature.**

Everyone chuckled again.

**Doyle told Cordelia to get comfortable while he tracked down Spike, and Cordelia said she wasn't comfortable here, asking how he lived like this, and he joked seeing her place made him call a decorator.**

There were more chuckles as Xander asked. "Did he just one-up Cordelia?"

"Looks like he did", Buffy said.

"Give him an award!" Xander said.

**Cordelia found it yucky, brushing away paper as she sat down while Doyle said the laundry might be overdue, and picked the phone, getting some wrong info on Spike before asking Cordy about Spike and she said to sweat.**

"Not wrong there", Giles said, remembering how he had felt when Spike had first come and he had discovered about him.

**Angel arrived in Rachel's apartment, telling her she could be safe in a shelter, and she said how she always started it and it was good for a while till he got abusive, and Angel said he could have killed her this time. Angel told her she should have faith in herself. He told her if she left Lenny, it would hurt, but she'd be the stronger for it too, with the general idea being love without 911 calls.**

"He's right", Buffy said. "And his way of explaining was simple and to the point."

"It made her listen too", Tara agreed.

"If only someone else could have been this brave", Willow said, referring to Debbie obviously.

**Cordelia told Doyle how Spike had nearly done Buffy a few times and repeated how he had killed 2 Slayers.**

Buffy groaned at the term 'done', since back then, it meant he had almost killed her, but now, it had another meaning too, which was equally true.

No one commented wisely.

**Cordelia also told Doyle about the time Spike and Dru had raised a demon that burnt people from inside, and it was about an arm in a box.**

"The Judge", Giles said, all groaning.

"Remember how we beat him?" Xander asked.

"Best loophole ever", Willow agreed.

**The phone rang as Doyle said in a nasal voice. "House of Pies", but then he realized it was Angel and told Angel that someone called Manny the Pig had said he didn't know a thing about Spike before Doyle had asked about Spike, so Angel decided to start with him.**

"How stupid are some people?" Buffy asked, referring to Manny.

"The stupidity of any race knows no bounds", Giles said.

**Angel then beat down a few people to look for Manny before finding the Pig and slamming him down and holding his throat, Pig telling his guys to stand down and also telling Angel that Spike was out back.**

"Well, that was easy", Dawn said.

"Except nothing is", Tara told her.

**Angel walked out back to see Spike snacking on a woman, and he commented how much of a buzzkill Angel was.**

Seeing Spike being evil again was hard for Buffy, but she knew she needed to watch this, unfortunately.

Even Dawn looked shocked, as she hadn't seen Spike at his worst ever.

"Any problem?" Willow asked Dawn.

"It's just…..Spike, I never thought he was this bad before", Dawn said.

"Well, on the bright side, you didn't meet him when he was that way", Tara said.

**Spike threw the girl into Angel and ran off as Angel chased, and then he was stopped by a fence as Spike turned to face Angel, joking how he would have to pay his debt to society while Angel told Spike he never learnt, only for Spike to say. "I may be a slow learner." Chains rattled behind Angel and he turned as a guy whipped his chains around Angel's neck and dragged him down as Spike said. "But eventually I learn."**

"Oh crap!" Xander said, everyone having a sinking feeling now.

"You okay to watch?" Willow asked Buffy.

"I am", Buffy nodded, though they were still not fully convinced, but let it pass for now.

**Doyle and Cordelia were worried about Angel, with Doyle being optimistic about it.**

"I don't think he is on any shore", Dawn muttered. "Or watching bikini babes."

**Angel was hanging on chains as the other guy put on a classical LP and opened the trunk, taking out torture tools while Spike said his name was Marcus and he was the King of the classic torture and loved kids, whom he liked to eat and do other nasty things to.**

Everyone felt chilled to their core by Spike's description of Marcus, plus seeing him so callous and cruel after they had seen him as a good guy.

**Angel trashed in his chains as Marcus ripped open Angel's shirt, looking at his skin, and said there was little external damage, before saying he had known love, and Spike added with a Slayer, calling it a perversion.**

Buffy again thought how the tables had turned, as Spike had fallen in love with her, that too without his soul. Was that a perversion, or something beautiful? Depended on perspective, she guessed.

**Marcus noted Angel had a soul so he had something to lose, and Angel asked if he would torture him or bore him to death, and Marcus said a bit of both as he picked a hot poker and stabbed it into Angel's lower chest, while Spike watched with a smile.**

Everyone was uncomfortable, worried for Angel, even Giles and Xander, as while they weren't his biggest fans, they still liked him more than Spike.

**Later, Angel had several pokers in different parts of his body and Marcus asked what he wanted again, with Angel joking a house in the country and a pair of good running shoes to wear at dinner too. Spike was annoyed, asking why Marcus played the Brahms, but he corrected it was Mozart, Symphony 41 which he found effective.**

"As horrible as Marcus is, his taste in music is good", Giles said and was shot looks. "Which shouldn't matter right now."

**Spike kicked a box angrily, saying he wanted his ring back or would kill Angel, but Marcus said he wouldn't till he got his ring. Angel called Spike an idiot for hiring a Vamp to get the ring, but Spike said he hired a guy who didn't care about the ring bur torture, as all had an addiction, Angel's being 'Slutty the Vampire Slayer.'**

"Okay, now I'm pissed", Buffy said, everyone wisely shifting a little away from her. She was watching the man she had loved and lost back when he was evil and calling her a slut. Bad combination for any woman, but with a Slayer, it was even worse.

"Angel may have been turned into a fluffy puppy by love and a pesky curse, but for Spike, a chip was enough", Dawn said, still trying to get over evil Spike.

**The music stopped as Spike said he'd run into her recently and Angel's name had not come up, and she had boned the first guy she came across, and he was good looking, he had used her shamelessly and ditched her, and he said how she looked cute when hurting.**

Everyone distanced themselves a bit more as Buffy muttered. "Parker, that….."

"Evil man who deserves to have his face bashed in", Dawn said.

"I heard Riley punched him once", Willow said.

"Well, that was one thing he did right", Buffy said about him. [3]

**Angel said she was cuter when she kicked his ass.**

Everyone chuckled as now Buffy's mood was a bit improved by Angel's comment.

**Marcus started the music again while Spike decided to leave, calling Angel's scream on getting a poker stabbed through him good music.**

"You have terrible taste, Spike", Giles said to him, though all were still concerned for Angel too.

**Spike went through the sewers to Angel's place, tearing the place up, wondering where to find the ring.**

"Hope he doesn't find it", Xander said. "Though not counting on it."

**Marcus shot two holes in the ceiling, the streams of sunlight making Angel flinch as Marcus said while most living beings loved the light, they hated it, and so if Angel didn't want the ring, he wanted something, with pain showing them who they are, and he would help Angel find his innocence, and then he shot another hole, making Angel force away.**

"The sicko", Dawn snarled, everyone glaring at Marcus.

**Spike came to Angel's office, Cordelia waiting with a crossbow in her hands as she snarled. ""When you are done giving the place the Johnny Depp once-over... I hope you have the cash to pay for all of this."**

"I doubt it", Willow said. "We hadn't started paying him yet."

Everyone chuckled as her attempt to lighten the mood worked.

**Spike joked he loved the hair as he stepped closer and Doyle aimed a gun, saying he was more than met the eye, and Spike said he had a spine which he would snap in two, and Spike told Cordelia he would kill her before her arrow left the bow, making her lower it, and he said if they gave him the ring, he'd let Angel go, telling them the location before walking off.**

"This is getting worse by the minute", Giles said.

**At the warehouse, Marcus taunted Angel who fished for the stake Spike had dropped with his feet, as Marcus' back was turned, and Marcus pulled out 2 pokers, before saying he wanted forgiveness. Marcus promised to free him as Angel promised to kill him, swinging his legs to drive the stake into Marcus, only for Spike to catch his feet, quipping how staking the torturer was prohibited.**

"Oh God!" Tara said, everyone's mood plummeting at Angel's attempt to save himself being foiled.

**Marcus hit Angel as Spike decided to now give a hand.**

"Now this is even worse", Dawn said.

**Doyle and Cordelia looked for the ring in Angel's apartment, Doyle not finding it in the cliché places before they decided to go to the sewers, Cordelia commenting it was like looking for a needle in Kansas.**

"Honestly, that should be a phrase", Buffy said.

**Doyle let Cordelia walk ahead before turning into his demon face, then sniffed the air, turning into his normal face as he walked to where Angel had put the ring and picked it up.**

"Handy use of that face", Willow said.

"I'm guessing people Spike could have found it if he tried better then, Vampires do have a good sense of smell", Buffy said.

"But it's a good thing he didn't find it back then", Tara said and no one disagreed.

**Doyle told her he found it and said sometimes they got lucky.**

"Or spiky", Dawn said and all chuckled.

**She said she could hug him right now and he spread his arms but she said he wasn't that lucky.**

"Poor guy", Willow said.

**Cordelia then told him they needed a plan. Spike waited in the shadows behind the Fishery as Doyle and Cordelia arrived, telling him they knew where the ring was and they would tell him where it was if he took them to Angel.**

"So he's a Cockney now", Xander said, everyone laughing.

**Angel was slumped against the chains as Spike, Cordelia and Doyle arrived. Cordelia was about to run to him but Spike held them both back, getting impatient. Doyle called him a dog and taking out the ring, tossed it past Angel, telling him to fetch. Cordelia told Spike to now leave them alone but he taunted them as he reached for the ring when tires squealed and Oz's van burst through the side of the warehouse, ramming through some barrels and coming to a halt behind Angel as Spike rolled out of the way.**

"Go Oz!" Willow said.

"Right on time", Buffy said.

"His van is the best vehicle ever", Xander said and Giles shot him a look. "It's true."

"How I miss his coolness", Dawn muttered.

**Oz pulled out two crossbows and aimed them out of the driver's side window while Cordelia and Doyle freed Angel and helped him into the back of the van. Oz greeted Spike before the van backed off, and Spike looked around for the ring in vain, while Marcus was shown walking out in the sun, not burning.**

"And now he has got it", Tara groaned.

"See Spike! This is why you don't hire another Vampire to get that ring!" Buffy said.

"So, he's an idiot", Xander finally said. "Not surprised."

**Spike now had a tantrum. ""Son of a bitch!... I do the work,...I do the digging,...fight off a Slayer,...drive to LA, fire the help,...and what do I get?...ROYALLY SCREWWED, is what!... Well that cinches it. No more partners. From now on I'm my own man. A lone wolf. Sole survivor. Look out, here comes Spike! The baddest mother..." a beam of sunlight from one of the bullet holes hit the back of his head and his hair ignited. "Ahh!" He ducked and put his hair out with his hands. "I really hope they kill each other."**

Everyone chuckled as Willow said. "Epic fail again."

"I'm guessing that the chip was planted into him after this", Xander said.

"And he turned from big bad Spike to puppy Spike", Dawn said, glad she had only met and befriended the latter, and never met the former.

**Marcus walked onto a pier while Oz drove Angel, Cordelia and Doyle away, offering some first aid when Angel asked to turn around after a pulling out a poker, saying Marcus specialized in children and couldn't have gotten far. Oz spun the van around.**

"So Angel against Marcus to get the ring now", Tara muttered.

**As Marcus looked at some scouts, Oz drove his van onto the pier, sending him flying.**

"Hell yeah!" Xander said, everyone cheering for Oz.

"I definitely like him", Tara said.

"Well, he's very likable", Willow agreed. "And you are too."

**Cordelia told the scouts to run off while Oz, wearing shades, shot Marcus in the chest with a crossbow bolt but he pulled it out and threw it away while Doyle fought Marcus but was knocked down. "You sure about this?" Oz asked Angel. "Yeah", he said.**

"What's he going to do?" Dawn asked.

"Something crazy", Buffy said.

**Oz opened the side door and Angel launched himself out with a scream. He caught fire as he ran to tackle Marcus. They crashed through the railing and into the water below.**

"Bloody Hell! That was a risky and desperate gamble", Giles said.

"He did it to save the children", Buffy pointed out, impressed by his heroism.

**Cordelia, Doyle and Oz looked over the railing as Angel and Marcus stood in the shallow water under the plier, and fought, though Marcus wasn't the best fighter, the two being evenly matched. Angel was thrown down before blocking some blows and tossing Marcus away. Angel slammed his face in the wooden fence and reminded he had promised to kill him as they fought more, Marcus throwing him off though Angel caught his kick and threw him down. He slammed Marcus through another fence but Marcus lifted him up by the collar while Angel said Marcus had tried but failed to crack him, and that was torture, and then he punched Marcus, then impaled him on a board sticking out, before pulling off the ring as Marcus screamed, dusting.**

"Good riddance", Xander said.

"Yeah, one more sicko down", Willow said in agreement.

"Now he has the ring", Giles said.

"For now", Buffy told him.

**Angel put the ring on hesitantly, then walked out of under the pier, looking at the sun as he blinked. Cordelia inquired about his well-being as Angel said he was good and thanked Oz for the help, calling him key.**

"That he was", Buffy said.

"Yep", Willow agreed.

**Oz said he was pale as Angel wandered out on the beach, amazed, while Oz commented on how pale he was. Angel later watched the sunset on top of a skyscraper, saying it had been about 200 years between sunsets for him.**

"They look beautiful", Dawn said, feeling bad Angel couldn't see them anymore.

**Doyle told Angel how there will be another sunset exactly like this tomorrow but Angel said not for him, and not because the city was being hit by a meteor, but because he wouldn't wear the ring.**

"Why doesn't he want it?" Xander said, confused.

"Because he knows its power is going to change who he is, which he can't afford", Buffy said.

Everyone was impressed by his resolve, even Giles and Xander.

**Doyle joked how Angel had an addiction to brooding.**

All chuckled as Willow said. "That he does."

**Doyle said the ring was his redemption but Angel said it wasn't, just looked like it. Doyle pointed about the people he could save in daytime but he said. "They have help. The whole world is designed for them, so much that they have no idea what goes on around them after dark. They don't see the weak ones lost in the night,... or the things that prey on them. And if I join them, maybe I'd stop seeing, too."**

"That doesn't really make much sense to me", Dawn said.

"If you were him, it would", Tara told her, understanding Angel's reasons, even if she wasn't fully accepting of them.

Dawn nodded, realizing she was right.

**Angel told Doyle he had been brought back for a reason. As the sun sank below the horizon, Angel took off the ring, picked a brick and smashed it in a big green flash of light.**

"There it goes", Willow muttered.

"Guess I should have done that myself if I knew Angel was going to do it", Buffy commented. "But he did the right thing."

"Yeah, he did", Tara said. "Plus, imagine if some other random Vamp took it, it would be horrible."

"Yes, it would be", Giles nodded in agreement.

**Doyle then told Angel that Rachel had called and found a little faith.**

"She is strong", Willow said.

"Yes, that took guts", Buffy said. "And she'll be better for it."

**Angel then told Doyle he had a nice day other than being almost tortured to death, and said he was close to telling him everything, the two walking inside. The screen went black.**

"Well, that was intense", Buffy said as it was finished.

"Yeah, I mean, Angel and Spike going at it? Move to a different town immediately", Willow said.

"Truer words have never been spoken", Xander agreed.

"So, will we watch anymore?" Dawn asked.

"I am thinking one more will be enough for today", Giles said.

"Yeah, we can take one more", Tara nodded.

"Well then", Buffy said, moving to the 4th recording now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done with this at last. Seeing Angel and Spike fight is fun, as long as it's not over Buffy.
> 
> Now honestly, every time I hear the characters in the earlier Seasons mention Spike 'doing' Buffy, it ends up coming off as hilarious unintentional foreshadowing of Spuffy.
> 
> [1] I think its obvious Tara and Oz are very similar people. Both are kind, caring, sympathetic and sweet, and wise too. Oz is beyond his years, and Tara is a wise witch as she knows what lines not to cross in magic, something Willow understood too late and Amy never understood. So its obvious that Willow has a type, and Kennedy is not it. FUCK KENNEDY!
> 
> [2] I'm not the only one who wanted more Spike/Cordelia interactions, right?
> 
> [3] Many of us hate Riley, though there are others who do like him, but we can all agree on one thing- Him punching Parker was awesome.
> 
> So next up is 'I Fall To Pieces.' Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	5. I Fall To Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch Team Angel help a woman called Melissa stand up to her creepy stalker Dr. Ronald Meltzer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

"Last for the day", Buffy said as the recording came on.

**Cordelia walked into the office, ranting about her bills to Doyle as she said they needed to run this business like one and charge, plus she needed a raise. Doyle joked she had worked for him for 20 minutes but she corrected a month and she had needs.**

"I don't think that came out the way she wanted it to", Willow commented, everyone chuckling.

**Cordelia said a person needed certain designer things.**

"So that's what she meant", Xander said, nodding, since his mind had thought of the other stuff.

**Doyle did agree with her on Angel needing to charge, but said he hated bringing up finances, and just liked playing the hero, then walking off into the dark with his long coat flowing behind him in a mysterious and attractive way. Cordelia joked she could leave him alone for this private moment but he said he wasn't attracted, just that Angel projected a certain kind of image he was sensitive about.**

"Or, you're just attracted", Dawn said and everyone laughed.

"Don't really blame him, do you?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

"Nah", Dawn shrugged.

**The elevator opened as the two decided to stand up to him, after he had his coffee. Angel came in as they greeted each other, and he poured himself coffee, making a face after drinking due to it being a week old. Doyle and Cordelia brought up the topic ambiguously but Angel said he wasn't comfortable asking people for money. Cordelia told him to get over it, adding she meant it in a sensitive way. Doyle and Angel had a light argument, Cordelia getting annoyed before Doyle's face scrunched up in pain and he hunched over the table.**

"Vision time", Tara said to everyone.

**Doyle saw a brown haired woman in an office with shoulder length hair, and took a pen and paper from Cordy, and Angel poured him a shot. Doyle said he saw a 'Melissa Burns' who worked at Pardell Paper Products, and Cordelia found her in the phone book. As Doyle recovered, Angel asked how she looked and he said better than him, before drinking the shot and complained it wasn't single malt but polymalt.**

"They really do need the money", Giles said.

"Start asking, Angel", Buffy told him.

**Cordelia gave Angel the address and he grabbed his coat, throwing it on, walking off to work, and Doyle watched him leave, the coat flowing appearing in slow motion to him. Cordelia looked at him and he admitted he was a little attracted.**

"I knew it!" Dawn said happily.

"Guess people in trench coats have that effect", Xander muttered to himself.

**At the office, Melissa and a guy were commenting on an ordered cake where Penny's name had been spelled as 'Benji' instead, so Melissa wiped the bottom bulge of B with her finger as the guy stuck some candles down there. They wondered what to do with the 'j' now.**

"So, it's Penji now?" Buffy wondered.

"Guess it is, so she better change her name", Xander quipped.

**Penny then arrived and was wished a 'happy birthday', and looking at the name joked how they knew 4 letters of her name, and Melissa joked she should be Penji now since it suited her better. Penny blew out the candles and Melissa gifted her a pot, telling her she could break it by accident but Penny thanked her.**

"She took it rather well", Giles said about Penny.

"Nice lady for sure", Willow said.

**Then a dark-skinned guy came in with a bouquet, and they thought it was for Penny but turned out it was for Melissa, and she took them, but was spooked out on reading the name. The deliverer asked if something was wrong but she said 'no' and walked away from the rest.**

"Looks like she has a stalker after her", Tara said.

"So that's why Doyle had a vision of her", Dawn said.

"RIP stalker", Buffy quipped.

**Melissa took out a bottle of pills and hid it in her hands, requesting Penny to watch her phones and walked into the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She took out some pills and swallowed them with water.**

"Guess this stalker has been after her for quite some time now", Xander said.

"And is getting more volatile now", Willow agreed.

**Melissa walked into the parking garage when Angel called out to her, startling her as he apologized.**

"Don't sneak up on girls with a stalker", Buffy said.

**Angel introduced himself and said he worked in private security, saying it was his job. She wondered why he was telling this to people in a garage.**

"And epic fail", Tara said, everyone groaning.

**Angel held out his card and said she might be in need of his services, and she said she couldn't afford it. Angel said he helped people when police couldn't, and she asked if it was due to the goodness of his heart.**

"Yes it is, but no one buys it", Buffy said.

"This generation is paranoid like that", Giles said. "For good reason."

**Angel said he wasn't explaining very well but she still thanked him, and as she started driving off, he told her to call if she needed anything.**

"I have a feeling she is going to need a lot of things very soon", Xander said.

"And I have a feeling your feeling is right", Willow told him.

**At the office, Angel groaned he had scared her as Doyle said she seemed pretty scared already. Angel wondered if he put people off. Cordelia said for Vampires, he was pretty cuddly.**

"As long as his soul is in place", Dawn said.

"Yeah, Angelus is the opposite of cuddly", Buffy agreed.

**Angel asked Cordelia to talk to her but she said she'd get involved when Melissa hired them. Angel said he had a bad feeling so they should get involved, and money shouldn't be a factor. Doyle agreed, surprising Cordelia as he said. "No, it's about doing what's best for the people you've helped. People get attached to a mysterious savior, and can you blame them? But as long as you're just a man who's doing a job, and getting paid, they can feel like they've paid their debt to you and they can move on... independent like."**

"Best way to word it in a way both sides are comfortable", Willow said.

"Yeah, that was smart", Tara agreed. "Now it doesn't sound morally unethical in any way."

"Not that it was", Buffy said. "Everyone needs money to live at least."

**Cordelia told Doyle he was a lot smarter than he looked, and he looked like a retard.**

"Poor Doyle", Dawn said.

"Maybe being with me made her standards higher", Xander said, and all gave him looks. "Who am I kidding?"

**Melissa walked to an ATM, trying to get money but her pin was invalid. She tried again as a tall guy in a suit appeared. He had short grey hair but was bald up top. He said he had changed it, mocking her for making it her birthday, startling her.**

"So he is the one", Giles said, everyone tensing.

**He had changed it to 3-5-9-9, the day they had met. She told him to stop doing this, and he asked if she meant stop looking after her.**

"You call that looking after her?" Dawn said angrily.

"I have met many creepy Vamps and Demons, and he is as creepy as the worst of them", Buffy said, everyone already creeped out by his behavior.

"He is worse than the average stalker if he is changing your pin number", Tara said.

"It's like he is controlling her life, making it his own", Willow said, disgusted.

"Hope he gets his soon then", Xander said.

**He said he wanted her to be healthy and happy before asking how many tranqs she had taken in the bathroom, horrifying her.**

"Oh crap!" Xander said.

"How does he even know that?" Willow wondered. "Can he do some kind of magic or something?"

"Maybe", Buffy said. "Or he has others working with him and they put cameras everywhere she goes."

**He asked if she was taking his prescription rather than those.**

"If someone like him prescribes you something, take the exact opposite of it", Dawn said.

"Yeah, exactly what anyone should do", Tara agreed.

**He then said he knew she had thrown them in the drawers after getting home, saying they were for her good.**

"Him managing to see what she does in her private space makes him the creepiest stalker ever", Willow said.

"I have battled multiple Vamps and Demons, and he can stand alongside the worst of them", Buffy said.

**Melissa asked to leave her alone but he said two people in love couldn't do that.**

"If this was love, everyone would be afraid of it", Tara said.

**Melissa reminded the guy, whose name was Ronald, they had one date, but he said he took commitment seriously, and then noticed it was time for surgery. He pulled money out of the ATM, handing it to her, which she took hesitantly. He moved in to kiss her but she recoiled as he walked off, saying he would see her tonight.**

"How about never?" Dawn asked.

"He needs to be introduced to someone", Buffy said.

"Who?" Xander asked.

"Angel's fist", Buffy said, and no one disagreed.

**At Angel's office, the phone rang as Cordelia picked it up. "Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."**

"Wouldn't helpless be better?" Xander asked.

"They did change it to that later", Buffy said, remembering.

**After some talk, Cordelia said Melissa was coming as Angel walked off to change. Later, Melissa sat in the office, telling them it had been going on for 7 months, while Angel wore a white sweater.**

"Black suits him better to be honest", Tara said.

"I know right?" Willow asked. "His entire appeal is in black."

"Yeah, the broody mysterious stranger. The white sweater doesn't give that vibe", Buffy agreed.

"7 months though, more than half a year", Xander said, and everyone felt bad that Melissa had to live in fear for so long.

**Melissa said he was Dr. Ronald Meltzer, a neurosurgeon who had saved her sight by operating on a nerve behind her right eye, then asked her out. She had accepted due to feeling obligated, Cordelia noted. Melissa said they had a drink one time but then he had started coming around everywhere, including her apartment, office, etc. and even wanted to get married.**

"Way to proposition a lady", Giles said, voicing everyone's disgust.

**Melissa said he watched her everywhere, and had even know what she had done in the bathroom. Angel said they would help her and Cordelia added for a reasonable fee, but Angel gave her a look and she ducked.**

"While I support them charging a fee, wrong time to ask for it", Tara said, and all agreed.

**Angel said Doyle would accompany her home, and Melissa thanked them while sipping the coffee, and said it was terrible. Angel said he had a friend in the police department as Doyle led Melissa out, while Angel wondered how Ronald could watch her in private places. Cordelia noted he could also have cameras everywhere and wouldn't be supernatural, but Angel reminded Doyle had a vision, and Cordelia realized it had to be supernatural then. The two then thought about it as Cordelia commented to her flesh to stop crawling due to the creepy thoughts she was getting.**

"So guess it is supernatural in that case", Buffy said.

"Magic has to be it", Willow said.

**Melissa drew her curtains and brushed her hair, then got undressed while Ronald sat in his dark office, sipping a scotch, a picture of Melissa in the front. Ronald held the bridge of his nose with one hand while Melissa opened the back of her slip. Ronald took his hand down and his right eye socket was empty. An eyeball was floating in the air with some nerve endings trailing behind, and Melissa got out of her slip, her back to the eyeball.**

"Eurrggghh!" Everyone went together in disgust and horror.

"So that's how he is doing it!" Buffy said in realization.

"He can disassemble and reassemble his body", Giles said. "That's how he gets in and out."

"And no one knows it", Willow sighed. "Poor Melissa."

"Angel's fist can still meet him", Dawn reminded.

"What part of him though?" Xander asked.

**Angel walked to Kate, greeting her nervously as she wondered if he was here to ask her out or for a favor, and then concluded it was the latter.**

"You're not so unlucky, lady", Xander commented, and no one really care for now.

**Angel told Kate a girl client was being stalked, and Kate decided to help out.**

"Hopefully, Kate has some more", Tara said.

**Doyle walked with Melissa in her office, making her feel safe, and Melissa sat down, wondering if Angel had handled a lot of cases like these. Doyle said he had handled dozens of hundreds, not exactly like hers, but had protected 4 women, with 3 being alive, shocking her.**

"Don't think you should have mentioned the statistics", Buffy said, cringing, like the rest.

"Yeah, they never help", Willow agreed.

**Doyle then noticed a picture of her bungee jumping and commented she didn't seem like the thrill seeker type, and she said she used to do it all before Ronald. Doyle assured when Angel was finished she could jump off bridges again.**

"With a cord behind", Xander added.

**At the police department, Kate came up with a file and told Angel Melissa had fired a complaint 2 months ago but Ronald's lawyers were Wolfram and Hart.**

"And now things are even worse", Giles said as all groaned.

"They have to be everywhere", Buffy muttered.

**Kate said they ended filing a restraining order against Melissa instead, though there was no record of violence for the doctor.**

"My goodness, a restraining order against the victim?" Giles said while everyone was angered and horrified.

"But, isn't he violating it himself?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, even with restraining orders, if the person filing it goes to the one it's filed against, it's considered harassment by the complainant against the one they complained against", Willow said.

"Yeah, but its Wolfram and Hart", Buffy pointed out, and that said enough.

**Angel added 'yet' and said he might just blow. Kate said she'd put a uniform on the building but it would only be for two days max, but Angel said that was enough, and told her his client was scared. Kate told Angel to get her mad so she could fight him, but he said he would do the fighting. Kate told him. "That's not what I mean. This guy could go to jail tomorrow, Angel, and still kill her in her dreams every night. I've put a few of these creeps away and the hardest thing is to know that he is still winning. She's still afraid. He took her power away and no one can get it back for her but her."**

"That was deep", Tara said.

"And every word she said was right", Buffy said, thinking of her own experience with the Master. Even after killing him, he had killed her in her dreams every night till she had smashed his bones to get some catharsis.

"Well, Angel can fight, she can help", Dawn shrugged.

**At a clinic, Angel sneaked into Ronald's office, looking through stuff, and then he walked in, asking why Angel was in his office. Angel stuck a book he had gotten inside and pulled out a business card, handing it to him and introduced himself as 'Jenson', lying his wife had a malignant tumor on her ocular cavity and was going to die till someone had the nerve to operate.**

"Did he just make a pun?" Xander asked and all nodded. "He made a pun."

"Now hopefully, the doctor buys Angel's charade", Willow said.

"Remember, he is a great actor", Buffy said.

"I remember", Xander sighed.

**Ronald said he couldn't help when Angel picked up Melissa's photo and asked what she was to him, and he lied she was his fiancée.**

"Did you propose with a ring?" Tara asked.

"I think he assumed giving her money from her own account was a proposal, and her taking it was her accepting", Xander said in disgust.

**Angel asked if he had set a date and Ronald said they were working it out. Angel asked how he knew she was the one, and then asked if he would die for her. Ronald said he would.**

"I think she would die of you first", Willow said angrily, speaking for everyone.

**Angel then begged Ronald to think about it, while Cordelia interviewed a nurse, saying their readers at 'journal of diagnostic orthoped... etcetera' were fascinated with him.**

"That's the best she could come up with?" Dawn asked.

"I think she should have come prepared for this", Giles said.

"They're still beginners though", Buffy reminded.

**The nurse said he developed nerve and blood vessel accelerants that helped a lot of people, since when a limb was severed there was only so much time to reattach before it atrophied, the image disgusting Cordelia before she asked to go on, and the nurse said he was one of the best at reattaching severed nerves, and then Cordelia asked if he struck her as a creep.**

"Should she have really asked that?" Xander wondered.

"If he is a stalker, he would give off some signs to others, especially women", Buffy said.

**Cordelia promised to keep the nurse's name out of it, and the nurse said he wasn't generous, not sharing his techniques with the medical community, and what he claimed to have done was radical.**

"So, there's some dirt then", Dawn said.

"But not enough to expose him as a stalker", Tara said.

"Actually, it's nothing at all if you want to expose him", Willow said.

"But it's still something", Giles told them.

**Later, Cordelia paced around Angel's office, telling him the guy could do anything with a knife and joked stalking was the third most popular sport for men these days.**

"Hey, we guys aren't that bad!" Xander said.

"I guess she has more experiences with Ronalds than Xanders", Buffy told him.

**Angel said it was 4** **th** **after Luge and then said there was nothing about Melissa that made him stalk her, but he couldn't stand not being able to deal with a real woman, so he created a fantasy about one he barely knew, and when she failed him, he had to hurt her, as she reminded him of how useless and damaged he was.**

"He is speaking from experience", Giles said, having a slightly judgmental tone.

"Angelus is as evil as Angel is good", Buffy spoke.

**Cordelia commented how he must have been a fun date back in his evil days and said it would give him insight into the jerks. Angel said he may know how he was doing it, and showed her the book he had stolen from the office, mentioning a Vinpur Natpudan, and Cordelia remembered him from the news a few years ago. Angel said he had a nervous breakdown and then had an exclusive retreat for some yogis and doctors, including Ronald, and had sent him an e-mail, and then Cordelia noted he had stolen the book.**

"Vinpur would have some more info", Tara said.

"Yeah, since he met him at a retreat of all places, he would know more", Buffy agreed.

**Angel then met Vinpur, who asked what he could do about Ronald hurting an innocent woman. Angel asked to help him understand Ronald better, as he wasn't like others. Vinpur said no two people were alike as God kept all people varied and interesting. Angel asked how he had met him, and Vinpur said he had come to one of his lectures and his operating thesis at the time had been that the mind was the single most powerful force in the universe. In any average human it regulated billions of cells, and that was with 80% of the brain still untapped.**

"His teachings would sound bogus, but since we know magic, they sound interesting", Willow said.

"And Ronald looks like he's using it", Tara reminded.

**Vinpur said Ronald had eclipsed all the psychic surgeons, and he had exploded all the theories and hearsay, so Vinpur had stopped teaching, not because he had stopped believing, but because he had started believing completely.**

"He's that good?" Buffy wondered.

"Well, he was able to take an eye out of the socket", Xander reminded, touching his own spot where he had lost his eye sadly.

**At Melissa's house at night, Ronald stood outside and stared inside. Melissa slept in her bed as a police car pulled over. The officer got out, telling Ronald to put his hands in the air, and when he turned around, his hands were in his pockets so the officer pulled out his gun. Ronald pulled out his arms, but had no hands.**

"No hands to put in the air", Buffy commented. "He is creepy, but there's a joke there."

"I am worried what he's gonna do to the cop though", Willow said.

**The severed hands crawled up the side of Melissa's bed, while the officer apologized to Ronald, who accepted. He then walked off.**

"Well, at least the cop is safe", Willow said.

"But Melissa isn't", Tara pointed out.

**The hands slipped under Melissa's blanket, and she woke up, looking under, then screamed. The officer heard the scream and ran inside, smashing the glass of the door to open it. Melissa undid the safety chain on her door and met the cop, frantically telling him there was someone inside her bedroom. The officer went inside and checked, before coming out and said there was nobody inside, only for a hand to grab him and pull him back.**

"And now he's going to die", Willow groaned, everyone now feeling even worse for him as well as Melissa.

**Ronald watched from outside as his hands choked the cop, while Melissa ran out of the house right into Angel.**

"Right on time", Xander of all people said as they sighed in relief.

"Maybe Ronald's fist can meet Angel's fist", Buffy suggested.

"But wouldn't it be a fist bump then rather than beat down?" Dawn pointed out.

"I hate you", Buffy muttered.

"Feeling's mutual", Dawn smirked.

**Angel calmed her down while saying he knew what Ronald could do, while she cried against his chest, and during that time, Ronald watched, the hand crawling up his leg and reattaching, while he took one last look at Angel and Melissa before walking away.**

"Your days of stalking with your body parts are over", Willow snarled at him.

**People then crowded around Melissa's house as the cop's body was wheeled away, and Doyle handed Melissa a cup of coffee, a blanket around her. Kate told Angel she wasn't making too much sense, and Angel said he knew it was the doctor. Kate said the cameras caught no one and asked if Ronald was Houdini, and Angel said something like that. Kate said if the prints matched, Ronald would go down, and then walked off to sign the coroner's release. Angel walked to Doyle, and he commented if they got prints Ronald would be put behind bars for 90 seconds before skittering through them, saying this just made him shudder.**

"Join the club", Xander said.

"Imagine a random prisoner sees his hand skittering around and in a panic stabs or smashes it", Dawn suggested, making everyone chuckle at the mental image.

**Angel said if the body parts went too long without blood or oxygen, they would deteriorate, and then he wouldn't be able to put himself back together, but it was just a theory, and right now they had to protect Melissa from Ronald, who was out of control and killing anything between himself and his obsession, and right now the thing in between was them.**

"Good luck guys", Buffy said.

"I am sure after all they have went up against, someone who can fall to pieces won't be too much", Willow shrugged.

"As long as they get the parts that is", Tara said.

**Doyle later put a duct tape over a vent, but then Cordelia touched his collar, making him jump. She said she was fixing it but he told her to leave it till this was resolved.**

"So a half Demon got scared by a cheerleader", Dawn said, and that made all chuckle.

"There is an irony about that", Giles agreed.

"Plus, she tried to fix his collar", Willow piped up.

"So she's into him too", Buffy smirked.

"Just doesn't know it yet", Tara said.

**They walked into the other room where Angel comforted Melissa, and told her he dealt with things like this. Cordelia offered a tissue but Melissa said she was tired of crying and being afraid. Angel said she had survived hell for the last few months and was still standing while Ronald had become unhinged, so she was strong and he was weak.**

"Good point", Willow agreed.

**Cordelia told Melissa to listen and started that Angel had stalked, but when they looked at her, she quickly corrected he had stalked a lot of books on the subject.**

"Narrow save", Buffy said.

"She needs a little more tact is all", Dawn said.

**Angel and Cordelia then went upstairs as she pointed out the doctor was dangerous. They went down via elevator and Angel looked through some pages, saying he was trying to find metal boxes, to pack up the doctor. Cordelia started commenting about the job but the ringing phone made her jump, and then noticed it was the special line, the two arguing about the business name for a bit before Cordelia picked up, introducing their company as 'Jensen International Holdings.'**

"Wondering if 'holdings' is because they are going to hold his body parts", Buffy said.

"These two just had a minor argument like a married couple", Willow noted on Angel and Cordelia.

"I know right?" Tara said.

"I don't really see 'em together to be honest", Xander said.

"Yeah, doesn't sound like something that would happen", Dawn agreed.

**Cordelia gave the phone to Angel, Ronald saying he would operate on his wife but it had to be done out of country and there had to be some cash. Angel asked if Ronald was in his office and when he said he was, Angel said he would bring it over right now.**

"Little does he know Ronald saw him earlier with Melissa", Giles reminded and everyone gulped.

"He has a plan", Buffy muttered. "But I am sure Angel can handle it."

**Cordelia asked what if Ronald came apart on him but Angel said he would stay apart in that case.**

"Hopefully", Willow said.

**Angel came into Ronald's office, who immediately dropped the pretext, saying he knew Angel wasn't Jensen and had no wife. He reached for something with his left hand, distracting Angel as he shot him with a tranq with the right one. Angel started falling and gasping as Ronald said the paralytic was slowing down his heart.**

"But it doesn't even beat!" Buffy snapped, everyone worried for Angel.

"Maybe it is affecting him in a different way", Willow suggested.

**Ronald was angry Angel was trying to take Melissa from him, telling him he had seen them together. Angel rolled back onto the floor, Ronald ranting about how devoted he had been but she had still lied and cheated, now no more, and he left while Angel passed out, commenting she would have made a beautiful bride.**

"If she becomes one, it won't be yours", Tara snarled.

"And his definition of devoted is creepier than his stalking", Dawn said.

**Doyle taped another vent as he and Cordelia looked at the sleeping Melissa, Doyle saying he had put enough whiskey in her tea to drop his Aunt Tudy who had some girth. Cordelia wondered what the point of going out was, as Doyle pointed out people needed people. Cordelia said either you liked them and they didn't, or you couldn't stand them and they hovered around you, while Doyle said he hated guys like that.**

"She isn't talking about me, right?" Xander wondered.

"No, you don't fit either of the definitions", Willow said. "Both of you liked each other, and when she couldn't stand you, you didn't hover around her."

"Aside from you, her other relationships could have been like that", Buffy said.

"Guess so", Xander said, feeling sated.

**Cordelia said how dating a doctor should be a good thing but now instead this was a psycho who could come apart. Doyle said not all relationships ended in disaster, and Cordelia asked if he had one, but he said he had read stuff in books. During that time, fingers poked through the duct tape.**

"Uh-oh", Tara said.

"Where's Angel when you need him?" Willow wondered.

"Having his still heart slow down", Buffy said, no one being able to make sense of that.

**Doyle and Cordelia wondered who out of Angel or Ronald would show up first when a rattling noise was heard, and they went through the living room, Doyle pulling two weapons as he gave one to her. Doyle said it could be the wind as an eye watched from behind a pipe. Doyle and Cordelia decided to do something for fun when the rattling started again, and two fingers came through a slit, slowly pushing the bolt aside, and another hand opened the door to the apartment, Ronald stepping in as his eyeball returned.**

"How many pieces is he going to make to come in?" Dawn said, creeped out badly.

"As many as he can, he's a creep", Buffy said.

**The fingers pushed the bolt to the side. Doyle crouched down next the trap door, hatchet at the ready and flicked the latch back. He opened the trap door and peered into the tunnel below. Ronald put a hand over Cordy's mouth from behind, slammed her into a wall and then out through the door, while the other hand pulled Doyle head first through the trap door, which slammed shut behind him. Ronald shut the door and turned around to look at Melissa who was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him. She watched as his second hand came over and melded back into place. Ronald adjusted his tie.**

"Face to face at last", Willow said.

"Now time for him to find out how much of a coward he really is", Xander said. "If you have guts, try to stalk me like that."

Then he quickly added. "Or don't!"

**Ronald said how he was more than met the eye, taking out a scalpel as she ran past him but he cut her off, saying she still cheated on him with a LA pretty boy. Melissa, finally feeling brave, said he had given up on love so now he was a creep who got off on pain, and said he was a vile, repulsive freak, so she won't be afraid of him anymore. He could kill her and cut her up, but it wouldn't change who he was. His throat bulged strangely.**

"You go girl", Buffy cheered for her.

"Yeah, tell him how much of a creep he is", Willow added.

" **Angel was right. You're weak!" Melissa snarled. "I'm weak? Then how was it I killed him?" Ronald asked. The door slid open behind him to reveal Angel. "Inefficiently."**

"Hell yeah!" Dawn said.

"Guess it affected him but he shrugged it off eventually", Buffy said, now looking forward to the beatdown.

"Yeah, Vampires can get affected for a bit", Tara agreed.

"But now he is going down", Willow smirked.

**Ronald was shocked as his teeth flew out and bit Angel's arm, but he slammed them against the wall, Ronald holding his mouth in pain.**

"Love coming apart now, huh creep?" Xander taunted.

**Ronald stabbed his shoulder with the scalpel but Angel was barely slowed down. Ronald threw his right hand which grabbed Angel's throat and threw him to the ground. As he turned to Melissa, Angel threw the hand away, but it came skittering back as Angel pulled out the scalpel and stabbed it, stopping it. Ronald told Melissa they could have been happy as his ear fell off, when Angel hit his head with a pipe, sending it flying across the room, and then held the gasping Melissa.**

"He didn't meet Angel's fist", Dawn said.

"But he did meet a pipe", Buffy pointed out. "Even better."

"Yeah, no more than he deserved", Xander said.

**Next day, Cordelia made coffee, saying recycled was her favorite but added fresh grounds. Angel walked in wearing a dark blue shirt and handed her some papers, her asking if he would ever pull himself back together, and Angel said he was in 12 steel boxes in buried in 20 cubic feet of concrete in the floor of LA's newest subway station. Doyle commented how it would bring in the tourists.**

"Here lies a creep who could come apart, and now he stays apart", Xander said, making everyone laugh.

"I guess RIP to him, Rest In Pieces", Buffy said as all chuckled.

**Melissa came in with a potted plant, giving it to Angel as he asked if it needed light and she said it would be fine in there, saying now she had places to go and people to see thanks to him. Doyle and Cordelia then started coughing, and so Angel asked for a bill, and so she pulled out a check and handed it to Angel, but Cordelia grabbed it and took it.**

"Finally some money for them", Willow said.

"It shouldn't be the priority, but there is nothing wrong in making it a priority", Buffy said.

**Angel said he didn't do it for the money but Melissa said he had earned it, and they shook hands as she hoped to never see him again and he agreed, her walking out. Doyle said that didn't go badly, and Cordelia said this was a good country, and Doyle decided to deposit this in the bank. Angel said he would stay so as to not burst into flames, and Doyle said he was the night deposit guy, but still cause to celebrate.**

"He wants to celebrate a lot", Giles noted.

"Maybe it's a superpower", Buffy suggested jokingly.

**They walked out as Doyle said they would have more soon but Cordelia said they needed more right now, asking him to have a vision, but he said he couldn't perform on demand, but Cordelia said they needed clients and asked to have a vision again, but Doyle said money had corrupted her. Cordelia asked if she hit his head, would he have a vision, but he told her to get away as she was insane, but she said she wasn't and asked if he would have a vision. Angel walked into his office with a slight smile and put the plant on the desk.**

"Now I'm wondering if she hit his head or not", Willow said.

"I think if she does, she will see a green face, blue spikes and red eyes instead", Tara told her.

"This is it for today, right?" Xander asked.

"Yeah", Buffy said. "And there are many more, we can't watch them all today, we need more time."

"Well, we're in the future so we will be dropped off where we were picked from", Dawn pointed out.

"So we should go talk to your future selves then, and then eat and sleep", Giles suggested and everyone nodded in agreement, getting up and walking out of that room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this chapter ends, next will be a break chapter so that will come out faster, and then we get to the introduction of Ghost Dennis. Yes!
> 
> Oh Xander, Dawn, you two have no idea! *smirks ominously*
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	6. Break I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang talk a little with their future selves who tell them some cryptic stuff about the future, while future Buffy tells her present self that the relationship with Angel wasn't as good as they had thought it to be back in the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> So this is a break chapter. They are shorter to write than the viewing ones, but harder due to the interactions between the past and future characters.

Buffy, Willow, Xander, Tara, Dawn and Giles walked out of the viewing room, into what looked like a dining room, where their future selves were all sitting around, and there were 6 empty chairs, clearly kept for them, and there was some freshly baked food there as well.

"Figured you'd be hungry", Rosenberg told them.

"Figured right", Willow said as the past people all sat down, slowly eating up the food in front of them.

"There's a problem", Dawn said as everyone looked at her. "Like, if we call out a name, then other than Giles, there are two of us here, how would we know who's being called? It can cause a lot of confusion, you know."

"Just call us by our surnames", future Buffy said.

"Wouldn't work on us though", Dawn said, gesturing to herself and Buffy as well as their future selves. "We are all Summers women."

"Well then you can be Dawnster", future Dawn shrugged.

"Why do I have to be Dawnster? Why can't you be Dawnster?" Dawn asked her future self.

"Because you are younger than me", Dawn said with a chuckle as Dawnster pouted. "Because I am from the future, and I am an adult, unlike you."

"Hate it when that happens", Dawnster muttered to herself as she chewed on her food a bit too loudly.

"So, what kind of spell did you use for that television thing?" Tara asked the future people.

"It's basically a spell that reads through memories of people and scans them in a three-dimensional view, and then we can store those wherever we want", Rosenberg told her. "In this case, a TV, since that can play all of the memories too."

"I did read a little about it, but no one has tried it so far", Willow said.

"We had to try about 5 times before getting it right", Maclay told her. "It's a very dangerous spell, we were lucky nothing too bad happened when our attempts went a little wrong."

"So you took memories of Angel and some others, and made them into a TV series or something like that, for us to watch", Buffy summed up and the future people nodded at that.

"But why?" Xander asked. "Like, why do we need to watch what he did after our graduation at Sunnydale High? There's something important about that? Because so far, all we've seen is him, Cordelia and Doyle solving random supernatural events every week, and of course Spike showed up that one time."

"Yeah, we get that the first few can be a bit tough to get through due to the random supernatural investigations that happen every week", Summers said. "But it is all important, especially if you are to understand all of what comes later."

"You said something bad happened? What was it if you don't mind me asking?" Giles asked.

"Can't tell yet", Harris said to him. "We feel you should get through enough of these before we actually tell you what happened, and why, so that you can make some better decisions when we send you back to your time."

"So, whatever happened was because of bad decisions we made?" Dawnster asked and the future people gave nods once more.

"Yes, bad decisions were made, horrible ones", Summers said, her eyes lingering at Giles for a second before turning away. "By us, as well as by Angel and his team, and well, they lead to a lot of trouble for us all down the road, for quite a few years."

"And now, stuff is fixed, but it is going to get worse in the future if the prophecies are to be believed", Rosenberg said. "Which is why we are doing this, to show you, so that you do not make the mistakes we did."

"So, what exactly were the kind of decisions that lead to stuff going this bad?" Buffy asked.

"Black and white ones", Maclay said, looking at Giles again for a second before turning away.

"As for this thing, where you are making us view Angel's memories, did you get his consent?" Willow asked, having learnt about it the very hard way clearly.

All of them sighed, before Rosenberg said. "We did get consent."

"Anyway, we are making you watch this because we want all of you to understand Angel, as well as his friends, better", Summers said.

"I think I understand him just fine", Buffy shrugged. "I mean, we used to be together after all."

"You think you do, but with you, he was actually the worst version of himself", Summers told Buffy. "Without the relationship with you, he actually evolved into something more, and he had a lot more to think about rather than just you."

Buffy didn't really argue. Back in her teenage days, she considered her romance with Angel the best thing to ever happen to her, but looking back, she could see the problems they had. First of all, it was clearly his mysterious persona that had made her swoon over him, and so she had fallen for him quickly.

But then really, all they did was make each other miserable, or to put it more accurately, she made him lose his soul, and then he made her miserable, so she had to kill him to save the world, and when he came back, they tried, but it was obvious it could never work out.

"Yeah, I don't think it was as good as I thought it to be back then", Buffy agreed.

"I never really approved", Xander piped up.

"I know", Buffy sighed.

"Yeah, but your reasons of not approving were very different", Harris said to his past self, and Xander couldn't disagree.

"When Angel was with us, he actually lived through us in an unhealthy way, we were all that mattered to him, which is why we made him perfectly happy at the time", Summers explained to Buffy, who listened, absorbing the explanation. "But now, you will see him actually trying to live a proper life which isn't reliant on a single factor."

"And also this mess that you are talking about", Buffy muttered.

"The start of it", Dawn told her.

"Anyway, you all must be tired, so you can sleep tonight, and we will continue tomorrow", Rosenberg said and everyone nodded, feeling tired as they got up, and the future people led their past selves into different rooms, with Buffy, Xander, Dawnster and Giles each getting one, and Willow and Tara both getting one for themselves.

And with that, they went to sleep, but the thought of what exactly had happened was still in the back of their heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's the first break, where I managed to get through without revealing any future details, other than cryptic hints.
> 
> And well, this is my opinion on Buffy/Angel really, you don't have to agree with it, but that's what I always took it as, and really, beyond the 'forbidden love' aspect, Sarah's and David's chemistry, and 'Close Your Eyes', I never had much reason to care for their relationship.
> 
> And after examining the complexities of Angel and Darla, Angel and Buffy basically looks to me like the equivalent of a divorced middle-aged man dating a much younger partner to get over his previous partner.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	7. Rm w/a Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch Cordelia's attempts to get a new place, and the best one happens to be haunted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

The Scooby Gang woke up the next day, and met up with their future selves, having breakfast together.

"How many had you watched last night?" Summers asked to be sure.

"Four", Buffy told her. "And I see there are many more."

"Yup", Rosenberg said. "It's a long, long road."

"But yesterday, when we came, it was night, so we only had time to watch 4", Dawnster said. "Today I think we can watch 8, with a break after the first 4."

"Yeah, fine by me", Xander shrugged.

"Well, hope you enjoy", Harris muttered. "Or not."

"What will you do in the meantime?" Giles asked.

"The usual", Maclay shrugged. "We don't think we are needed to view too much right now."

"But, I will be watching the 8th recording with you", Summers told the past group. "And after the first 22 recordings are finished, all of us will be watching the next few recordings together, since we feel you need to hear out what we think over some stuff that happened in those."

"I have a feeling it wasn't very pleasant", Tara said.

"No, very brutal", Dawn told her.

"Well, hope it isn't bad enough to make us lose our appetites", Willow said.

"Not physically brutal, just emotionally", Harris told her, and she gulped, and then they finished breakfast, going their separate ways.

The future gang went off to do the usual stuff they did, and the past gang returned to the viewing room, taking the same positions on the couch as before.

And then, Buffy picked up the remote and turned the TV on.

**At the office, Cordelia held a white trash bag, complaining about it, as Doyle agreed. Cordelia then groaned sarcastically how it was a great audition about things leaking, and they still hadn't picked her. Doyle said they had no idea what they'd missed out on, and as the telephone rang, Cordelia said they'd given it to a ridiculous blonde who looked like Catwoman taking out the trash rather than a housewife.**

"If they wanted Catwoman, they should have hired her", Buffy said.

"I know right? She even dressed up as a cat on Halloween", Xander reminded everyone.

"Tough luck", Tara shrugged.

**Doyle then asked if she'd answer the phone, and then Cordelia's voice spoke the recorded AI motto on the phone, as her friend Aura left a message, saying she wanted to check in. Cordelia just straightened stuff on her desk, not wanting to pick up the phone, since she wanted to do it when she was acting and had a better place to live.**

"She did talk to me a lot", Willow noted.

"She may have been surrounded by many friends due to her popularity, but I guess we were the only real friends she really got there", Buffy sighed, remembering what Cordelia had said to her back when Marcie had been hunting her.

**Doyle said he could help with the apartment, and after a little mock hesitation, picked up her stuff, walking out of the place.**

"Guess she doesn't want to take any help right now", Dawn said.

"Yup, still in denial", Xander agreed.

**Angel read an old book as Doyle sat nearby, putting up his feet, annoying Angel but not enough for him to comment. Doyle commented how getting to know her was like wrestling a tiger.**

Everyone chuckled as Willow said. "He's not wrong actually."

**Doyle asked stuff about Cordelia as Angel said she couldn't type or file and he had no hopes about the phone till now, and said Aura was one of Cordelia's group from high school, they were called the Cordettes, and were rich and popular, deciding who was popular and what was in. They were like the Soviet Secret Police if they cared about shoes.**

Everyone was almost in hysterics as Tara asked. "Is it true or an exaggeration?"

"It is true", Buffy said in between laughs.

"And they were still better than Kirstie", Dawn said, groaning as she remembered the girl who was basically a poor woman's Cordelia.

"Don't degrade Cordy by comparing her to cheap knock-offs", Xander said and all chuckled again. [1]

**Doyle realized Cordelia was the richest one as she talked like she had golden servants, and Angel said she was till her parents lost it all, so it was riches to rags, and a come down, but she was doing all right according to Angel.**

The humorous mood evaporated as all felt sad for how bad Cordelia's life had gotten once more. Like sure, she could be mean at times, but she was a good person, and deserved to get good education from the colleges she had been selected in. But because of her dad being arrested for tax evasion, it was all gone, and now she had to do this instead.

**Cordelia opened the door to her apartment but the key got stuck and she scratched her arm trying to get it out. She turned the light on and it flickered before staying on. She went to the sink to get a drink of water but the water was a dingy brown and shot out of the faucet, splattering her white shirt.**

"Oof!" Willow sighed, the sympathy for Cordelia just increasing.

"I have a feeling she is about to take up Doyle's offer", Giles said.

**She turned on the lamp and then TV to see a cockroach on it and groaned, calling up and reminding she had asked for an exterminator, and was told one had been there. She noticed 3 cockroaches on the TV screen now and squashed another with her foot, seeing a lot of dead bugs on the carpet, getting startled, and quickly called up Doyle.**

"Damn, this place has more cockroaches than sewer lines", Xander said. "And I hate 'em."

"Join the club", Tara said.

"I mean, what do they need 6 legs and those antennae on top for anyway?" Willow asked.

"Okay, stop giving me mental images!" Buffy said.

"So, the Slayer is scared of cockroaches?" Dawn asked and Buffy gave her a look. "No worries, everyone is."

"Are you afraid of cockroaches, Giles?" Xander asked.

Giles took off his glasses with a sigh and said. "No."

"So, yes?" Tara asked.

"Yes", Giles nodded, putting his glasses back on. "Bloody little pests."

**Doyle came in as his phone rang and turned on the light but saw a dark brown skinned Demon with spines along his jaw and on the sides of his hairless head, and the Demon greeted him.**

"Looks like he has a different kind of problem", Tara said.

"Yeah, life threatening one", Buffy agreed.

**Doyle said he had the wrong place but the Demon said Doyle owed money, with Doyle distracting him with talk of friendship and family, but the Demon didn't care so Doyle said he had his money in a drawer and walked to a dresser, reaching for the top drawer which the demon slammed shut, asking if Doyle was stupid enough to have a gun there.**

"Looks like this one has seen quite a few movies", Giles said about the demon.

"Yeah, having a gun in the drawer is such a cliché now", Xander said.

**Doyle said he didn't, and pulling the drawer out hit the Demon on the chin, running out as the Demon gave chase.**

"I don't think anyone does that though", Buffy said, everyone finding Doyle's quick thinking admirable.

"Yeah, that's new, go Doyle!" Dawn cheered.

"But he is in trouble", Willow said and all groaned.

**Beethoven's 'Ode to joy' played on a phonograph in Angel's place as the shower ran, and there was a knock as Angel came out of the bathroom, all wet, wrapping a towel around his waist as he went to answer the door, and then Cordelia stepped in, pushing some bags into Angel's hands as she walked into the apartment.**

"She is so freaked", Buffy said.

"And with that level of freakiness, she might even freak out Angel", Willow said.

"Poor Angel", Xander of all people muttered.

**Cordelia raised her hands, saying how she was a mess and the lowest of the lowest, talking about a suitcase she left in the hall. Cordelia ranted how she was living like the girl from the projects, which Angel didn't know about as he almost dropped a bag. Cordelia then said she had sunk low enough to call Doyle.**

"Oh come on, he's not that bad", Dawn said.

"It's just the Cordelia way of saying things", Buffy told her.

**Cordelia ranted about the roaches, muttering some had antlers, to Angel's confusion, as she wondered how many she had stowed away in the bag, making Angel look down at it.**

"Really hoping none came in it", Xander said.

**Cordelia then ranted about the water, and said she needed a shower since she smelt for the first time ever. She said she would stay here till she got a place and he would be invited when she did, and then said he could dump her stuff on the couch or let her have the bed, whatever he wanted, and said her suitcase was still in the hall, before walking into the bathroom for a shower. Angel just stood there, scratching his head.**

"How much of that do you think he got?" Tara asked.

"I don't think he got any of it", Giles told her.

**Next morning, Doyle arrived, a dark bruise on his right hand while Cordelia sat in a white bathrobe at the table, trying to see her reflection in the vase as she combed her wet hair with her fingers, and Doyle came out of the elevator, asking for Angel. Cordelia greeted him as Angel walked out of the kitchen wearing shorts and an open bathrobe, while Cordelia asked Doyle if he got the feeling where he would always be unclean even after a shower.**

"I did", Willow said with a wince, sighing, as Tara just grasped her.

"For some reason, with how they look, I don't think Doyle is gonna take it well", Xander said.

**Doyle stared at her as Angel told her she got peanut butter on the bed, and then showed his hand, prompting her to look, while Doyle was angry at Angel since he, the broody Vampire had swooped in and taken her away even though he was wearing her down, calling himself a homely fellow who didn't turn evil when he got some, and then Angel said Cordelia had stayed over because there was something wrong with her place and he had slept on the couch. That made Doyle pause as he said that was fine.**

"Well, it could have been worse", Tara said.

"She did call him last night, right?" Buffy asked and all nodded. "I think they're going to have a talk about it."

**Cordelia walked back inside now wearing clothes, saying Angel had somehow gotten peanut butter there in recent history, and when Angel said he didn't eat, she said she had no idea how it got there in that place.**

"I do. It's you!" Dawn said as all chuckled at Cordelia's behavior.

"Just like old times", Xander said.

**Angel walked to the bedroom as Cordelia began to brush her hair, and Doyle said she looked good, with her ranting she couldn't know as there were no mirrors, and would it kill Angel to not see himself. Doyle laughed.**

The audience laughed with him.

**Doyle then asked if anyone had called, asking for him or his address, and she said some cousin with a name from his part of England had. Doyle told her a warning would have been nice as Cordelia said she helped the guy as a favor to him. Doyle reminded she let Aura hang in there and Cordelia told him to make a list of people he could talk to, and then Angel arrived, noticing the bruise as Doyle lied it was badminton. Angel then asked about the wet towel on his leather chair, and Cordelia gave a fake smile, making him sigh and drop it as he walked off.**

"I think she's gonna make him stake himself", Xander said, making everyone chuckle.

"Not if Doyle helps her out first", Buffy said.

"Guess Doyle will be Angel's hero instead of hers in that case", Dawn said with a chuckle.

"Or both, since she does need a place", Willow reminded.

**Later, Doyle saw Cordelia cutting up Angel's vinyl floor as she said she wanted to check if he had hardwood floors, and then Doyle looked at some trophies behind, quipping he had no idea Angel was Queen of the Winter Ball, Cordelia saying they were hers.**

"Yeah, she got quite a few of those", Willow said in remembrance.

"Which makes this even worse for her", Buffy said in sympathy.

**Doyle looked at Cordelia's burnt diploma, commenting on it as Cordelia said it was a rough ceremony.**

"Understatement of the century", Xander said as all laughed.

"Yeah, it was so rough I had to blow off the school", Giles said, the laughter increasing.

**Cordelia said it was her life pre-LA and Doyle said at least she could look back, unlike him, and then Angel arrived, saying a big guy had come to see Doyle, and called him up.**

"Guess it's the Demon", Dawn said.

**Doyle then walked in and saw it was just Angel, complaining it wasn't nice to trick people but Angel said he needed to tell what was going on. After Doyle did, he said he had a system where some owed him, and he owed others, so if he did a favor for someone the debt went away, it was a system of checks and balances, but some checks didn't balance, Angel noted.**

"It's a very dangerous way for anyone to live", Tara said.

"Yeah, one misstep and-" Xander ran a finger across his throat.

**Doyle said they just needed a little diplomacy and asked Angel to talk to him, but he said he had bigger issues, surprising Doyle. Angel then said he could help Doyle with his problem if Doyle helped him too, and then Cordelia cleared her throat, smiling and waving as she asked if Angel had linoleum glue for when it started folding over.**

"Yup, definitely a bigger issue than a Kailiff Demon", Willow said, all chuckling.

**Angel assured he'd be there quickly as she walked off, and then he said he would deal with the Demon if he found Cordelia an apartment.**

"Sounds like a fair deal", Buffy shrugged.

**Later, a guy showed Doyle and Cordelia an apartment, though Doyle said he could call his guy, but Cordelia wasn't interested. Doyle commented it couldn't get worse than this and Cordelia said they couldn't tell from the hallway, and looked inside, the place was tiny, Doyle said the place had potential and Cordelia said next one would be better.**

"Here's to hoping", Dawn said.

**Later, a clean cut guy lead them down some steps, pulling a curtain to reveal a toilet and sink, and said they were a community that did chores together, and then Cordelia commented to Doyle her urination hadn't been public lately. The guy said they didn't believe in barriers as it was first rule of the great leader, and she could come to the meetings if she wanted at 5:00, and when Cordelia said it was too early, the guy said the chanting began at 4:00.**

"Pass!" Dawn said.

"Yeah, not interested in that stuff", Willow agreed.

**Later, Cordelia stood at the doorway of a nice apartment as a big guy with a big gut stood next to her, saying he was right across the hall and she could sleep easy knowing he was the only other soul with a key to the door. He smiled and tossed his keys in the air, telling her to think about it.**

"Not subtle", Tara said.

"Creep", Xander muttered.

"So, pass!" Dawn said.

**Cordelia finally asked Doyle about the guy and he commented how she and Angel always did it the hard way.**

"Yes, some people just love doing things the hard way", Willow said.

"Yup, like I once knew a guy who preferred stairs to elevator", Tara said. [2]

"Seriously?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah", Tara said.

**Angel looked around at Doyle's apartment when the Demon wrapped an arm around his neck from behind.**

"Oh no", Dawn said.

**A lady in a suit lead Doyle and Cordelia into a furnished apartment, Cordelia finding it very beautiful, and just perfect, before asking the lady what was wrong with it. The lady said there was nothing wrong and the previous tenant had broken their lease, saying she didn't know how Cordy heart about it, and she smiled at Doyle, while the lady said it was quite a bargain, furniture included, and asked if Cordy wanted it. Cordelia said in awe how she used to have this, and the lady commented it must be her lucky day, and Cordelia responded she used to have those too. Doyle said she'd take it and the lady left, saying she'd fill out the rental forms.**

"So she has a place now", Willow said happily.

"Yeah, but the Universe is never kind", Xander sighed.

"You think there is something wrong with the place?" Tara asked.

"I know it", Xander said.

**Cordelia pointed at a wall, saying they needed to hire someone to take it out. Doyle reminded she'd called it perfect, and she said perfect included one tiny little flaw for her to fix, making Doyle comment how she found him fascinating.**

"Maybe she found me fascinating too", Xander shrugged.

"More than you know", Buffy muttered, but Xander heard her.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked but Buffy didn't reply, but now Xander really wanted to know. "Buffy, you wanna tell me something?"

"Remember that time during homecoming when the Vamps went after me and Cordy, thinking she was Faith, and then we got trapped?" Buffy reminded, and Xander nodded. "She told me she loved you."

"Huh?!" Xander asked, never having known that. "She did?"

"Yeah, she said you grew on her", Buffy said. "And that she loved you."

"And I went and betrayed her", Xander muttered in self-loathing.

"Hey, it was a long time ago", Tara said comfortingly. "You two have moved way beyond that."

"It wasn't just your fault though, it was mine too", Willow reminded.

"Let's not think of it", Xander sighed. It may have been moments of weakness, but Xander would never forgive himself for betraying Cordelia like that, especially since he now knew she loved him back then.

**Cordelia hugged Doyle, saying how she loved his guy.**

"How he wishes she said 'you' instead of 'your guy'", Dawn said and all chuckled.

**Doyle said this was a good day as he took care of her problem and Angel took care of his, and they walked off, not noticing a face like bulge on the wall Cordelia wanted to tear down.**

"Told ya", Xander said grimly.

"The Universe really does hate us", Buffy agreed.

"So this house is haunted by a ghost then", Giles said.

"Looks like it", Willow agreed.

**At Doyle's apartment, the Demon threw Angel against the wall but Angel turned around, grabbed the Demon and pushed his face into the wall, and getting his Vamp face said. "My name is Angel, what's yours?" "Screw you", the Demon snarled and Angel smashed his face in the wall. "My name is Angel, what's yours?" The Demon growled and had his face smashed into the wall again. "Griff!"**

"Hell of an introduction", Buffy said.

**Angel asked who he worked for but Griff said he only got orders, making Angel throw him down, and asked him to give a message, turning his face to normal as he picked the Demon up, asking about Doyle, and he said first he was supposed to make Doyle pay, but now he would die as a message to others. Angel pointed out the boss wouldn't get any money and added to what Griff was being paid, expensive message. Angel then assured he could get Doyle to pay, though Griff was more interested in why a Vamp was helping a half-breed. Angel said it was a good offer, but he wanted to fight some more, so if the Demon was lucky he would last 10 minutes, and if really lucky, he'd be unconscious for the last 5. The Demon agreed so Angel let him go, saying it was a good meeting.**

"For some reason, I think the deal will go south by the end of this one", Dawn said.

"And for some reason, I think you're not wrong", Buffy said to Dawn, agreeing with her.

**At her new apartment, Cordelia slept in the bed, and then the radio on the dresser turned on, switching to 1400 AM, with the music playing. "You always hurt the ones you love, the ones you shouldn't hurt at all…." Some drawers opened and closed as a voice whispered she should have never come, and then a drawer slammed shut, waking Cordelia up.**

"Ghostly activity", Giles muttered.

"And Cordelia's living right there", Tara sighed sadly.

**At Angel's place, Doyle was a bit bummed he needed to pay but Angel pointed out he was going to die, so Doyle was grateful for his life being saved. Angel then asked why Doyle lived like this, and Doyle said this kind of life prevented him from getting expectations up.**

"It's not a good way to live", Xander said, relating to some extent, as he had accepted his outcast status in high school long ago to prevent his expectation from getting too high.

**Angel said this life had chosen him, while Doyle could do better, but he said there was a bright spot, like Cordelia having a new apartment, and said she'd be grateful for the rest of her life.**

"If you don't get that ghost out, she's gonna get even angrier", Tara said.

**At her apartment, Cordelia sat up in her bed, scared, and turned the radio off before trying to turn on the lamp, but it didn't work. She reached for the glass of water but it began to boil, and the bed started levitating as she said. "I just knew this was too good to be true. I just knew it! I'm from Sunnydale, you're not scaring me, you know. No. You're not scaring me. You're not scaring me. Not one bit."**

"I think she is scared now", Dawn said.

"The ghost doesn't know who it is messing with", Buffy said confidently.

"You think so?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, its Cordelia, she can scare the ghost easy!" Buffy said.

**In the morning, Cordelia still sat on her levitating bed, holding her pillow, and then it dropped to the floor. Cordelia dressed in front of the mirror, reassuring herself, and as she looked to the side, a specter of an old lady appeared in the mirror beside her reflection but Cordelia didn't notice.**

"So that is the ghost", Giles noted.

"Right in a good place", Xander groaned.

**Cordy pulled out a chair from the wall, but it slid back. She pulled out further and the chair smashed into the wall, a leg breaking. Cordy backed away as a curtain cord wrapped around her arm, making her jump away with a scream, and she told the ghost to go towards any light it saw since it was dead. Then wind blew paper scraps in her face, and she taunted it, when there was a knock on the door and she jumped. It was Angel and Doyle though.**

"Just in time", Tara said.

"You think she's going to tell them?" Willow asked.

"Don't think so", Buffy said.

**Cordelia opened the door to see the two, and Angel held a potted cactus, calling it a housewarming present, and she thanked him. Doyle tried to walk in but she stopped him, saying he could come in a day or two when it was the way she wanted, but Doyle said it was great, before noticing the broken chair and commenting Cordelia had something against it, as she noticed Angel was still out and remembered he couldn't come in, but he still stepped in, reminding he had said she'd invite him over when she got a place, and Cordelia commented how the rules were screwed up since she didn't even have a place then.**

"Just tell them about the ghost!" Tara said.

"I don't think she wants to give up this apartment", Giles said.

"Her life is more important than it", Willow said.

"She doesn't see it that way", Xander told them.

**Doyle closed the curtain to block the sunlight, and Angel asked for a tour, and she simply pointed at the places, ending it by saying she'd tear down the wall. A pair of scissors flew behind Angel's back but she grabbed them before anyone noticed, as Angel commented he couldn't believe she could afford this. Cordelia put the cactus down and opened a drawer to put in the scissors, but a bulge in a face's shape appeared, making her slam it shut.**

"Don't think its gonna work", Buffy said.

**The two turned at the sound as she offered to go out for lunch when a trophy behind lunged at Doyle's neck but Angel caught it, and Cordelia again tried to make an excuse of an uneven mantel, but the charade was over. There was a moaning sound as the word 'Die' appeared on the wall behind Cordelia as if blood was soaking from inside, and both Angel and Doyle tried to pull her out, even if she didn't want to give the place up, and she joked the ghost might mean 'diet' instead.**

"It shouldn't appear in blood then", Xander pointed out.

**Doyle suggested they could put the ghost to rest and the guys tried to take her out, and she yelled to the ghost she'd die before giving up the apartment, and with that, Angel and Doyle got Cordelia out while the door shut, and the specter's voice decided to oblige.**

"Never give such challenges to a ghost", Giles said.

"I guess if the ghost is haunting such a nice apartment, anyone would react like that", Tara said.

"Yeah, it's understandable, if stupid", Willow agreed.

**Later, at the office, Doyle looked up the place on the computer, with Angel reminding it was just a place to live, but Cordelia said it was beautiful, and said if it went away, it was like she was still getting punished. Angel was confused as she said. "I don't know. For what I was? For everything I said in High School just because I could get away with it? - And then it all ended, and I had to pay... Oh, but this apartment... I could be me again. Punishment over... welcome back to your life! Like, like I couldn't be that awful if I get to have a place like that? - It's just like you!"**

"Don't think like that", Tara said in sympathy.

"I think she's been punished enough, this ghost is out of line!" Xander said.

"Yeah, such a mean thing!" Willow agreed with him. "And I never thought I'd see the day we would speak up for her."

"Life's funny like that", Buffy muttered.

**Angel wondered if she was talking about his redemption but she said he used to own a mansion.**

"More like hung out in one", Giles said about the Crawford Street Mansion.

**Doyle finally noted a death of a Mrs. Maude Pearson who built the place and took a unit there, before dying of a heart attack in 1946 in Cordelia's living room when she was 57. Cordelia said it had to be her, though Angel disagreed since it wasn't a violent death, but Cordelia was adamant, and wanted to do the spell. Angel warned it wasn't easy since they couldn't get all ingredients, but Doyle said he knew a guy from whom he could get it, and he left after a snippy comment from Cordelia over Doyle knowing guys, and Angel said he would talk to Kate, Cordelia commenting why Patrick Swayze was never dead when one needed him.**

"Oh, Patrick Swayze!" Dawn said. "Yeah, he'd make a better ghost than this one."

"Hope he never becomes one", Buffy said.

**Later, Angel called up the office and Cordelia picked up as he said they could end it, so she hopefully hung up and left.**

"Finally", Xander said in relief.

**Cordelia returned home, looking around when Angel's voice said he was in the bedroom, but when she stepped in, she turned around and jumped back on seeing Maude, who spoke in Angel's voice Cordelia had got her message.**

"So it was her", Buffy snarled.

"Now she is even more out of line!" Willow said.

**Cordelia ran out but the door wouldn't open as she flew backwards. She got up as Maude stood there, saying how Cordy didn't fit and couldn't leave her son alone, surprising her.**

"So she had a son too", Giles said. "That sounds important."

"I think it is", Dawn said.

**Kate sipped a coffee, wishing she could be more help, with Angel saying knowing the kind of things that don't happen help so it eliminates the possibilities, with Kate saying he sounded like a detective, which Angel said he was.**

"So, Detective Angel", Willow said, all imagining him wearing a hat to finish the look, and chuckled.

**Kate joked that detectives had resumes, business licenses and last names, and pop stars and popes had one names, Angel joking he was a pope.**

"Pope Angel now", Dawn said, the laughter increasing.

**A guy handed Kate a folder as she read it, saying Maude's death sounded suspicious because her son Dennis Pearson had a lot of arguments with her over his fiancée, whom his mom didn't like, and he had skipped town the day she had dropped dead. Angel thought it could be an unavenged murder.**

"So, he made her have a heart attack?" Xander wondered.

"There is some magic that could do that", Tara said. "Not advisable to do it."

**Angel noted there had been suicides there due to a kind of killer, and Kate looked up some suicide victims, who had all died in the same apartment. Angel later dialed on a payphone, and Doyle, who had arrived with the stuff, picked up, saying the motto wrong with 'We hope you're hopeless.'**

"Very forthcoming there", Buffy quipped.

**Doyle noted Cordelia wasn't there and then noticed a message, which was Angel telling Cordelia to come to end the whole thing, but Angel said that wasn't him.**

"It was that lady who tricked poor Cordy into coming there", Willow said.

"They'll save her", Buffy assured.

**At the apartment, Cordelia tried to convince Maude she wasn't whoever she thought she was, and Maude mocked her name, saying she wasn't good enough for his boy. Cordelia said her friends would come but Maude mocked her more, and she didn't deserve anything. Angel and Doyle rushed in the convertible, Angel saying Dennis had murdered Maude so she was a rage ghost, and Doyle said they should have brought more bile.**

"Just hope it does the job", Dawn said.

**Cordelia said she'd leave but Maude called her worthless, crashing the chandelier behind her, and then pushed her back. A cable snuck out from where the chandelier was and wrapped around her neck. As Maude's taunts continued, the cord went back up and pulled Cordy with it. Cordelia tried to keep the cord from choking her, Maude saying people sent her here to fail. She went limp as Maude disappeared.**

"No, no, no, no", Xander muttered to himself repeatedly.

**Angel and Doyle burst in, Angel lifting her up as Doyle got the noose off her neck, and Angel laid her on the sofa as she started coughing. She panted about the ghost as Angel asked her about the murder, saying Maude had made a connection with her. Cordelia said Maude thought she was taking her son away, and Angel said she played a role in the delusion so it gave her power, then told Doyle to start the binding circle while he found the spell. Doyle lay out a circle as paper flew around, Angel flipping through a book as he started chanting and more stuff flew around.**

"Won't give up without a fight, would she?" Buffy asked.

"Doesn't look like it", Giles said.

**Angel then asked Cordy to stand in the circle and strike at the center since the ghost was in contact with her, and Maude whispered to her. Angel handed the book to Doyle while trying to encourage Cordelia, calling her the biggest pain so she could do it. Stuff kept smashing into walls so the two grabbed Cordelia to get out but a man, and two Kailiff Demons including Griff were there, stopping them.**

"As if things couldn't get any worse", Willow groaned.

"Looks like they really don't want the money, just some deaths", Tara noted.

"Which makes them even worse", Buffy said.

**Griff said he lied about the payment while Maude was angered at the 3 thugs, light bulbs blowing. Doyle pulled Cordy away as the human shot at Maude and broke a tile surrounding the fireplace, angering her. Angel fought Griff as the human ran, and the other one pulled Doyle up who frantically said he'd pay. The drawer opened and knives flew out, Angel punching Griff down while Doyle ducked as the knives hit the other Demon.**

"One down", Dawn said.

"Ghost to go", Xander added.

**Griff threw Angel over the sofa as Cordy went flying into the bedroom, the door slamming shut. Doyle jumped on Griff's back, while Cordy cried, begging Maude, who taunted her while Angel continued fighting Griff, and as Cordelia apologized, and Maude said. "You better be sorry, you stupid little bitch." Cordelia stopped crying and slowly looked up at Maude. "I'm a bitch."**

"I have a feeling the ghost shouldn't have done that", Giles said.

"Oh yeah, Cordy's back!" Xander said.

"So, ghost is gonna go?" Dawn asked.

"She'll be tortured for all of her unlife if she doesn't", Willow said.

"Go Cordy!" Buffy said.

**Maude told her to kill herself as Cordelia snarled. "I'm not a sniveling whiny little Cry-Buffy. I'm the nastiest girl in Sunnydale history. - I take crap from no one."**

"Cry-Buffy?" Buffy asked, offended.

"Well, to be fair, you did cry a lot in years 2 and 3 of high school", Dawn told Buffy, making Buffy look at her. "It's true!"

"She's not wrong, you know", Willow said.

"Yeah, I remember quite a few instances", Xander agreed.

"It was probably your relationship troubles", Giles said.

"Yeah, that was it", Dawn said, remembering her comment to Riley about how Buffy always cried over Angel, and not him, to make him feel better. Though looking back, even Angel was better for her sister than Riley.

"Guess so", Buffy sighed, deciding not to argue, since they weren't right. "Still don't like the term though."

**As Maude tried to order her to kill herself again, Cordelia snarled. "Back off! Polygrip... You think you're bad? Being all mean and haunty? Picking on poor pathetic Cordy? Well, get ready to haul your wrinkly translucent ass out of this place, because lady, the bitch is back." Angel and Griff continued fighting as Maude told her she wouldn't take trash from her, but Cordelia said. "I tell you what I think. I think that you're going to pack your little ghost bags and get the HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE!" There was a flash and Maude flew backwards through the wall.**

"Oh my God!" Tara said, everyone surprised.

"She is gonna kick the ghost out!" Dawn cheered.

"No more than she deserves, being murdered doesn't give her the right to do all this", Xander said about Maude.

**Angel dropped Griff as the flying stuff stopped, and Cordelia walked out of the bedroom, looking up, her eyes all glazed white, and picking a metal lamp, demolished the wall she had been wanting to take out. Cordelia kept hitting it till she revealed a tied up skeleton bound with ropes as Maude screamed.**

"Who's that?" Willow wondered.

"It doesn't look like a woman's skeleton", Buffy said. "And the police found her body, so it can't be her."

"So who else could be there?" Giles wondered.

**In a flashback, Maude bricked up her son Dennis in the wall as 'you always hurt the ones you love' played, her telling Dennis he made her do this. Dennis begged her to stop as she taunted, saying now he couldn't leave or marry the streetwalker, and Maude later finished the plaster in, as Dennis begged to be let out, suffocating. Maude hung a picture on the finished wall, saying it hurt her more than him before dying of a heart attack.**

"Good God", Giles said in horror, speaking for everyone as he took off his glasses.

"She….murdered him….." Buffy trailed off, not sure what to say.

"She didn't want him to elope so she killed him?" Dawn asked, horrified. "How insane is she?"

"Very", Willow said.

"And here I thought my parents were bad", Xander muttered.

"I think all of us here have bad experiences with our parents, but none are as bad as what happened here", Tara said, feeling sympathy for poor Dennis.

"Looks like it", Buffy agreed.

**Maude stared at the skeleton as a white light oozed out of it, Doyle saying Dennis wasn't too happy with his mom. Maude screamed she had done it for Dennis' good, as his fiancée would have made his life miserable.**

"He would still have a life!" Dawn snapped at Maude.

"She is just screwed up in the head, so everyone but her is wrong", Buffy snarled in disgust.

**A white light coalesced and headed for her, and then a great gust of wind obliterated Maude's specter. Cordelia said she knew she didn't like the wall.**

"Justice served right", Giles said, everyone satisfied.

"The heart attack might have been someone's punishment for her actions", Willow said.

"Yeah, but now she has finally gotten her comeuppance", Buffy said.

**Later, at Doyle's apartment, he added an extra lock to the door, Angel assuring he would always help out, but needed to hear the story of Doyle's life. Doyle tried to tell a grand tale but Angel didn't want it, so Doyle said he'd tell it in time, saying the past never let go, and Angel agreed.**

"The past never will let go", Xander said in agreement, thinking about his resentment for Vampires over losing Jesse, which had always dictated some of his actions, especially ones regarding Angel and Spike.

**At her apartment, Cordelia sat on the sofa, talking to Aura, commenting on how she missed her calls because of an incompetent girl at work, and lied how celebrities were on top of her, with Steve Paymer living down the hall, and she joked she had a roommate whom she never saw. Her can of diet root beer slid away from her on the sofa table and she put her hand over the receiver, telling Phantom Dennis to put it back, so it slid back, but then TV turned on, so Cordy told Dennis this was quiet time due to her being on the phone, and the TV turned off, Cordy thanking Dennis before resuming her typical talk with Aura.**

"So, she has a Phantom roommate now", Willow said.

"Stranger things have happened", Tara shrugged.

"Poor Dennis", Dawn said.

"Yeah, having to bear with her", Buffy joked.

"Well, at least she got a place, even if she's exaggerating it and her career, or lack thereof", Xander joked.

"So, time for the next one then", Giles said.

"Yeah", Buffy nodded, since there were 3 more to see before the next break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's another one done. Cordelia telling off Maude will always be epic, don't mess with our favorite bitch. And Dennis is such a sweety, I love him, he is the best. Anyone else think he and Clem should be roommates?
> 
> [1] Kirstie from 'The Body' kind of felt like Dawn's own Cordelia to me, as a way to parallel Buffy and Cordelia, though Kirstie is a cheap copy of course, no one can be Cordelia, there is only one.
> 
> [2] So, there are some people who use stairs over an elevator, even if it is to climb 4 or 5 floors, and I am one of those people. So I made Tara refer to myself.
> 
> Also, I think they'd need future Buffy to watch Episode 8 with them, since she'd be good at defending Angel's side to them, and they definitely need the whole gang to watch the first half of Season 2 with them due to what happened in that, and we know Giles can get pretty judgmental.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	8. Sense and Sensitivity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch the time Angel became a overly sensitive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

"Man, I really wish all recordings are as funny as the previous one was", Xander said.

"Yeah, we all do, but I don't think they will be, considering this mess the others mentioned", Buffy said as the recording started.

**At downtown LA in night, a guy in a black leather jacket with a duffel bag was chased, managing to make it to a parked car as he opened the driver's side door to get in, but got kicked in the back from behind, slamming against the open door as he fell down. It was Kate, and she was angry at him for not showing up to the station, and then Kate slammed him to the trunk of his car, cuffing him and reading out his rights while saying she didn't recommend them.**

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think she arrested him for bailing on a date", Dawn said, making everyone chuckle.

"It was a date. Just not the usual kind", Willow said.

**At the station, Kate made the guy who was called Spivey look at some pictures of him with some Tony Papazian, asking him about the death of Supervisor Caffrey. He lied it was a suicide but she said he had been shot in the back of the head, wrapped himself in plastic and locked himself into the back of his car. Spivey was losing patience, but Kate was just getting started.**

"She's great at the job", Willow commented.

"Yeah, that is some high dedication there", Tara agreed.

"Just hope the guy talks", Buffy said.

**Some other cops watched the interrogation, one of them commenting how Kate didn't have to pee, due to how much she was into this interrogation. Eventually, Spivey made her lose patience and she slammed him against the wall, though the others came in and pulled her off, and later she apologized to Detective Harlan, saying Spivey wouldn't talk, and Harlan commented that meant Tony was gone, and he didn't know anyone who could find him.**

"Yeah, but Kate does", Xander said.

"When a police detective fails, it's a private detective to the rescue", Dawn said.

**Angel battled some snake like appendages with mouths at their ends that kept attacking him from above a piece of pipe, and then Doyle and Cordelia arrived, with Doyle pulling a sword out of his bag and tossing it to Angel. Angel sliced off a tentacle and then sliced into the creature's belly, some green liquid splattering down.**

"Eurgh!" Dawn muttered.

"Still nothing compared to Gnarl though", Buffy said and Willow shuddered at his mention.

"Don't remind me of him", Willow said, rubbing her stomach at the memory.

"There was also Der Kindestod", Buffy said.

"Only you saw him, since you were ill", Giles reminded.

"And the Gentlemen", Tara said, and everyone had creepy memories of them as well as losing their voices.

"So these 3 are undoubtedly the scariest Demons ever", Xander said. "And that clown who chased me in my nightmare." [1]

Xander shuddered on thinking of that clown.

**Angel told them to cut all limbs and head this time and bury the parts separately, tossing Doyle the sword as he walked off. Angel said he was going to clean the next and would meet them at the office, disappearing, and Cordelia said how he didn't say 'please' and 'thank you' regarding the dismemberment, and Doyle said he appreciated them in an unappreciative way.**

"Isn't that a contradiction?" Xander said.

"Doyle tried and failed to defend Angel", Giles said.

"Well, as much as I like Angel, they're not wrong", Willow said.

"Yeah", Buffy agreed with a sigh.

**Cordelia got out a knife and said how Angel used his creature of the night status as a license to be rude and insensitive, with a tentacle wrapping around Doyle's neck which she didn't notice as she started slicing the monster. Cordelia commented how he was polite to the downtrodden but not to those closest to him, calling him clueless, while Doyle continued being choked behind her.**

"I really don't want to be Doyle, he has worse luck than me", Xander said.

"Yeah, poor guy, unnoticed by his crush even when he really needs her", Dawn agreed.

"Stuff happens", Buffy sighed. "But yeah, poor Doyle."

**Doyle and Cordelia arrived at the office the next day, covered in green gunk. Angel started telling Cordelia to do something but she cut him off, saying no matter how bad it was, she didn't want to hear about it till he asked them how it went. Angel said her mom wanted to speak with her, and was confused what they were talking about.**

"And, it ends anti-climatically", Dawn said.

"Jar Jar getting his own talk show, yeah that's an Avenger level threat", Xander said. "Worst thing to happen to Star Wars."

"Don't jinx it", Buffy said.

"You think they can do worse than that?" Willow asked.

"Who knows?" Buffy said. [2]

**Cordelia reminded Angel of the previous night but since both were here, he knew it went well, but Cordelia said that wasn't the point, the point was he could brood less and show more care to others' feelings. Doyle said she found him insensitive, ironically, and Angel said he was reserved but he did care. Cordelia said it was like he had no pulse, and Angel reminded he didn't, and Cordelia told him to understand how the living interacted.**

"I am sure Angelus did that a lot", Xander said, and all but Tara shuddered thinking of him, since she had never met either of the two alter-egos of the Vampire with a soul.

**Then Kate burst in, the two walking to his office and closing the door as Cordelia jokingly called them Mr. and Mrs. Spock.**

"It's almost like she's jealous", Dawn said.

**Kate showed Angel Tony's photographs, and there was an indictment against him for murder of a County Supervisor, but they had no idea where to send the subpoena. Angel realized she wanted him to do it, and said he wouldn't take any money due to owing her favors, but she said it was a job, and gave him her direct number, and told him to just find him and call her, as she didn't want him dead.**

"But he already is", Xander said.

"Which she doesn't know", Buffy reminded before thinking to herself. 'Yet.'

**Later, Cordelia looked through the files while Doyle searched on the computer, but then Doyle awkwardly gestured to Cordelia, and Angel started awkwardly thanking her for looking through the coroner reports, but she found it lame, and Doyle shook his head.**

"It takes much more than that to get her to forgive you", Xander said from experience.

**Cordelia told Angel she had got some stuff, saying Tony had anger management issues, and they decided to locate Tony's primary dumping ground. At the station, a white haired guy in a uniform came in, and Kate greeted him as 'dad', while he called her Katie.**

"So she became a cop after her dad then", Buffy noted.

"Like father, like daughter", Tara commented.

**Kate was disappointed he didn't say 'hi', and Lockley said she was working, and he needed to drop some pension forms, saying there was more red tape when one retired. Kate remembered Harlan saying he was getting a send-off at Blue Bar but he didn't think much of it, and Kate said she should say some words as he was her father, and she didn't find it troublesome. An officer told Kate she had a call so she walked off after an awkward parting from her dad.**

"And she has daddy issues as well", Dawn commented.

"Join the club", Buffy said.

"I think this is going to be an international club soon", Xander told them.

**Angel was the caller, and he was watching Tony on binoculars, telling Kate the location and that he had some muscle, and Kate went on her way, while Angel noticed a yacht was coming to pick Tony up.**

"Now he will not get out", Giles said.

"All for the best", Willow said.

**As Tony prepared to leave, Angel arrived wearing a Hawaiian shirt and white hat, bouncing excitedly and introduced himself as Herb Saunders.**

"So, Angel in a Hawaiian outfit", Willow said out loud, and all finally burst out laughing at that.

"Never thought I'd see the day", Buffy said.

"Still won't protect him from sunlight though", Giles reminded.

**Angel pretended to be lost and confused as Benny tried to shoo him away when Angel dropped him with a hard left, dropping the façade and commenting on his hat. The other muscle attacked as Angel took him down while Tony ran off but was stopped by the police, Kate aiming at Tony.**

"With that, he's caught", Dawn said.

 **Later, Tony was cuffed in the back of a cop car as Kate reprimanded Angel but he said Tony was getting away so he needed to do something**. **Kate said he had dressed like a road flare, making Angel take off the hat.**

"And that crap goes away", Buffy muttered.

**She told Angel to go as she'd figure out something to say to the Lieutenant, and he stared at Tony who stared back before the car drove off. At the station, Tony wanted his phone call as Kate taunted him, and he joked he could have let her catch him sooner while she said she'd have let him run more for his exercise.**

Everyone chuckled as Xander said. "Burn."

**At Wolfram and Hart, the phone rang as Tony asked for a Lee Mercer, and later Mercer talked to Tony, trying to reassure him, printing a fax with Kate's picture and info on it, saying they'd remove the thorn on his side.**

"Now she's in trouble", Willow said, all worried for Kate.

"That's what happens for being a good cop", Xander cursed the bad luck good people always had.

**Later, at the station, a stenographer recorded the conversation between Mercer, the Lieutenant, Kate and Tony, Tony insulting Kate's mouth as she mouthed off to him, and Mercer said this should be stricken off the record due to Tony's stress, and also mentioned Angel, though not by name, and when Kate tried to remind Tony of the murder he had committed, Mercer had her verbal abuse entered into the record, and said any violations of Tony's rights will have severe consequences, and he will shine a light on the precinct's darkest corners, making Mark Fuhrer look like Gentle Ben in comparison, and Tony complimented him.**

"If only good guys had lawyers that good", Tara said sadly.

"Yeah, but bad people are richer", Buffy groaned.

"Though for a cop, her behavior was quite unprofessional here", Xander pointed out. "I agree that Tony needs to face consequences for his actions, but Kate isn't helping her case by mouthing off like that."

"Yeah, guess she let her emotions get the better of her", Willow said.

**Cordelia sat at her desk, commenting how the case was done with, but Angel said there was something off about this, and Cordelia was annoyed he didn't notice her new orange sandals, and Angel tried to make an excuse when Doyle arrived and complimented them immediately.**

"There goes your excuse", Dawn said as all laughed.

"Why does she want him specifically to notice her shoes though?" Buffy wondered.

"Maybe she likes him", Willow suggested.

"They don't seem to match though", Xander pointed out.

"I don't think you and Cordelia matched either", Tara said and Xander had to concede.

**Doyle then said Tony was planning something, having heard from a source, and that was all he knew as Cordelia looked between them and shook her head.**

"That he is, and won't be good", Buffy said.

**Kate arrived at the Blue Bar, the bartender giving her a drink and saying her dad had paid, so she sat with him, and he complained about lawyers to her due to the Tony case, and then Harlan arrived, dropping a page of sensitivity training in front of Kate, saying all were supposed to take it, as Harlan joked they'd be made to hug, and Lockley said he was glad this wasn't the norm in his day.**

"So these are the consequences then", Xander sighed.

"Not the worst that can happen though", Dawn pointed out.

"Which means this isn't it", Buffy said grimly.

**Later, at the sensitivity training, Allen spoke, failing to get anyone excited, and held a stick, saying whoever held it would express themselves without any judgment, and asked a cop called Heath to take it but he wasn't interested, though Heath eventually took it and told of his family, learning to fight his 6 rough brothers and how their mom tried their best, and Allen noted he had shut off because of it, and then Kate quipped if he wanted to marry her, making Allen look to her, as he gave her the stick, saying genuine emotion made her afraid, and her anger was a kind of fear, explaining it.**

"While this looks ridiculous, he sounds right to me", Willow said.

"Yeah, not wrong there", Tara agreed.

**Later, Angel and Doyle talked to Johnny Red, who said he had heard something due to Tony's guys attending his Thursday spinning class, and by his info, Angel deduced Tony was after Kate now.**

"This is it", Buffy said, and the atmosphere turned grim.

**Angel arrived at the police station, and Kate, due to the sensitivity training, apologized to him and thanked him for last night, and asked him to attend her dad's retirement party, to which he agreed, and said Tony wanted her dead, making her make sensitivity comments again as she joked she was becoming Dr. Laura and assured she would be back to herself in no time. Angel just looked at her.**

"He is sensing something off", Willow said.

"Maybe there is", Giles said.

**In a dark mansion, Allen met with Mercer and told him he'd see the results of his work by next day.**

"So there is", Giles said.

"Mercer sent Allen, and Kate is all sensitive now", Buffy said. "Allen did something to them all."

"And it doesn't look like it's a good thing", Xander sighed.

**At the retirement party, there was a cake with 'Happy Retirement Trevor' on it, and Angel and Kate arrived, Kate saying she was afraid and excited due to her upcoming speech, and Angel joked about picturing public in their underwear as Kate said she was already at it.**

"I don't think any of us do it", Buffy said, and Xander hid his face.

**Kate wished her dad and introduced him to Angel, who congratulated him as Lockley said all he did was live long and not get shot, Kate calling him out for pretending important things didn't matter, and Angel said he and Kate had been friends for a short while. Lockley assumed they were dating and joked how he thought Kate was going in another direction all together.**

"Nothing wrong with that!" Willow and Tara popped up together.

"I think he's just making a joke", Buffy said. "If you detected any malice, it's probably because he seems off putting."

"I knew it wasn't just me!" Dawn said.

**The Lieutenant asked Kate to say some words and she gave her speech. "Hello everybody. Welcome to the end of an era. Now the old man would like us to believe that he couldn't care less about all this attention and free booze." There was laughter. "But I know him better than that. He put a lot of years in on the job, and he made a difference in a lot of lives." There were scattered cheers, her dad sat down. "And now it's over. That's a huge deal, no matter what he says. In fact I'm not really sure if he knows what he's going to do with himself. He forgot how to be anything but a cop a long time ago. And maybe, - maybe that's why I became a cop too. - After mom died, you stopped, you know? It was like you couldn't stand the sight of me. Her face, her eyes looking up at you. - But big girls don't cry, right? You said, gone's gone, and there is no use wallowing. - Worms and dirt and nothing, forever. Not one word about a better place. You couldn't even tell a scared little girl a beautiful lie." She sobbed. "God, I wanted to drink with you. I wanted you to laugh with me just once, the way you laughed with Jimmy here, or Frank."**

"The sensitivity training is speaking", Xander muttered.

"Poor Kate", Buffy said, everyone feeling bad for her. She and Dawn could relate.

And so could Tara, as she looked at Kate with empathy in her eyes, and Willow held her hand as they smiled at each other.

**Lockley wondered what had happened to her in the class as Kate continued, playing with her purse. "My best friend Joanne, her mom was soft, and she smelled like macaroni and cheese, and she'd pick me up on her lap and she would rock me. She said that she wanted to keep to herself. - She said that I was good and sweet. Everybody said I was. - Do you realize that you've never told me that I'm pretty? Not once in my life?"**

"This is getting worse", Dawn commented.

**Harlan encouraged her as Kate ended up sobbing, while the Lieutenant said this wasn't the place for it, and eventually, Harlan started beating on him as Angel pulled him off the Lieutenant who was led away by Harlan, with the other cops arguing, crying or fighting, and Lockley gave his orders, Angel taking Kate out too.**

"So this was the plan", Buffy said.

"Pretty good plan, incapacitate the cops with emotions, then do your thing", Xander said. "Way to ruin a retirement party."

**At the office, an annoyed Cordelia arrived to see Kate, who commented on Angel's intense eyes and old soul, with Doyle commenting he got that a lot.**

"You have no idea how true that is", Willow said to Kate.

**Kate commented how she considered it to be an enigmatic thing to attract women but Angel had no insincere bone in his body. Angel inquired about the person who ran the sensitivity training, Kate telling him it got them where they lived. Cordelia asked Doyle why she was behaving like that, making a drinking motion with a thumb at her mouth as Doyle thought she meant thumb sucking, and Cordelia incredulously corrected him to alcohol.**

"How can he not get that?" Buffy wondered.

"Maybe the Irish don't have that sign in their sign language", Xander shrugged.

**Kate gave the notice of the training to Angel, then said in a sing song voice that Doyle had a crush, telling Cordelia the same, though Cordelia refused to believe it, but Kate asked her to open up, and Doyle commented Kate was making some sense now, only for Cordelia to call Angel.**

"She really doesn't want Doyle, does she?" Willow commented.

"I think she likes him, she is just in denial right now", Tara said.

"You think so?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah", Tara said.

**Angel came back with the address as Kate inquired about his secrets, and told Cordelia to not let Kate out of her sight, before arriving at the candle lit room, looking at the offerings on the altar and the talking stick. Then Allen arrived.**

"Hopefully, Angel gets 'em", Dawn said.

**Kate was rocking on a chair, hugging her legs as she commented how her father had walked out on her, and started walking out to find him, while Cordelia and Doyle tried to stop her, but she pulled out her gun, waving it around,, saying she'd blow them away if they came in her way, so the two reluctantly let her go.**

"Oof!" Dawn sighed.

"So, the sensitivity training makes you too sensitive regarding any emotions", Buffy said.

"It does look like that", Giles said.

**Angel and Allen talked, Allen calling himself a polytheist as Allen counselled about anger again, and asked what Angel's parents were like, trying to hit him with his stick as Angel ducked and caught it, turning Vamp and pushing Allen against the wall, saying how they were great and tasted like chicken.**

"We did not need to know that", Xander said.

"So, he has daddy issues too then?" Willow wondered.

"Guess he does", Tara said.

"Join the club!" Dawn said.

**At the station, all the cops were being sensitive, hugging, crying, etc. as some prisoners sat in their cells, including Tony, and then Heath arrived, saying this made them more brutal, and so he unlocked all the prison cells, and started giving a speech on kindness only for them all to beat him to the ground.**

"And that's what kindness gets you", Xander said cynically.

"Being sensitive is good, being too sensitive leads to things like this", Tara told everyone.

"Yeah, we can see that", Buffy groaned.

**Kate ran to the station to find her dad while a car crashed, and a cop talked to them about whiplash, then emotional whiplash, saying how he couldn't even make love to his own wife.**

"Tough luck, buddy", Xander said while the rest snickered at the unintentional comedy.

**Angel ran past some people, and then arrived at the police station, both Cordelia and Doyle already there because of Kate, and said this wasn't good, only for Angel to smile and say someone needed a hug, and then he pulled them both into a hug.**

"Huh?!" Everyone went together.

"So…he got affected too", Buffy said.

"Blimey", Giles muttered.

"Sensitive Angel, wonder what that's like", Willow muttered.

"Bet it won't be better than broody Angel", Dawn muttered.

**The two pushed Angel off in annoyance as Doyle realized what was going on, and Angel put a hand to his heart, saying he was waiting to come out all this time, while Kate called her dad to talk.**

"Yep, definitely prefer broody Angel", Buffy said.

"Like this, he kind of loses his appeal", Willow agreed.

"Not kind of, he does", Dawn said.

"And he looks ridiculous doing that", Tara added.

"Sensitive Angel is a bigger loser than me", Xander joked, making everyone chuckle.

**Cordelia and Doyle tried to tell him he was whammied, and then Angel said to Cordelia. "Cordelia, do you have any idea just how precious you are?"**

"Was that the sensitivity talking?" Giles wondered.

"The stick makes one lose their inhibitions, since Kate had bottled up feelings about her dad for a long time", Tara said.

"So, you think Angel has feelings for Cordelia?" Buffy asked.

"I think he does", Tara said. "It looks like that to me."

"Huh!" Buffy said, not out of jealousy, rather surprise.

**After some prodding, Angel finally revealed about the stick and Allen, who was Wolfram and Hart's guy, to the two, and said he was making the cops sensitive to help Tony escape, and there was no contract on Kate, since Tony, the poor guy, would kill her himself, and Angel called him 'poor guy' because he had issues.**

"This is funny and disturbing simultaneously", Xander said.

**Doyle and Cordelia requested him to snap out and go Vamp but Angel said they judged him when he did that, though Cordelia denied it.**

Xander and Giles didn't comment, since they did judge Angel a lot, especially Giles.

**Doyle walked to the door but it was locked, and the cop said they were closed because they were tired of dealing with people's business, and pulled down the blinds so hard it was ripped off.**

"This is why cops shouldn't be too sensitive", Dawn said.

**A cop talked to a black prisoner, reading a poem he had written about him as apology for his bad treatment, and Kate talked to Harlan, now talking about how he felt about her, and said she taunted him by sitting next to him and smelling like that.**

"There comes the weird confession", Buffy said.

"I am really wishing they get interrupted", Willow said.

**There was a gunshot.**

"I take it back!" Willow said.

**It was Tony, who had armed the other prisoners, and was going to kill Kate. Cordelia needed to break through, though Angel was uncomfortable, and so Doyle threw a rock but it hit the wall, and then Cordelia threw it, shattering the window, as Angel then pushed in the bars.**

"At least he is still strong enough to get the job done", Buffy said.

"Just hoping the sensitivity isn't too much of an issue", Dawn added.

**They arrived inside as Angel said they had vandalized the place but the other two didn't care, and then Angel asked them to say the magic word to make him come with them, lecturing them about it, and Cordelia finally huffed a 'please'.**

"I think it is a big issue", Tara said.

"Figures", Dawn sighed.

**Tony arrived to kill Kate, when Angel arrived, saying he felt negative energy in the room, and both Angel and Kate commented on Tony's body language, Cordelia and Doyle getting annoyed, then Angel patted a chair in front of Tony to talk this out.**

"Don't think he is that sensitive", Xander said.

**As Tony made a comment, Angel suddenly smashed his face with the chair, knocking the other guy down as Kate shot the third one, while Cordelia stepped on the second guy's gun as he tried to pick himself up while Doyle kicked him out, and then Angel beat up Tony, saying he could have been a rainbow rather than painbow, finally dropping him.**

"So, that was the kind of sensitive they needed right now, right?" Dawn asked and all nodded. "Phew!"

"At least the job was done", Buffy sighed in relief.

"Yeah, but I can't see anymore of sensitive Angel", Xander muttered.

"Are you kidding? He's hilarious", Willow said.

"Yeah, that ridiculousness is funny on him", Tara agreed with her.

**Angel and Kate then hugged each other, disgusting Cordelia, and then separated, commenting on Tony's sad state.**

All burst out laughing at this point.

**Next day, Mercer listened to Tony on the phone and said now they couldn't help him since instead of escaping, he had tried to shoot up the police station and kill a cop, so now their relationship was terminated, as Wolfram and Hart had more pressing issues. He looked at the video of Angel confronting Tony as he said that. Tony slammed the receiver back angrily.**

"On the bright side, he will stay in prison", Xander said.

"On the not so bright side, Wolfram and Hart is going to be after Angel in full force", Buffy said grimly.

**Next morning, Angel arrived to talk to Kate who said they thought someone had spiked the Blue Bar, and both were a bit fuzzy about last night. He walked off when Kate's dad arrived, Angel watching, as Kate tried to bring up the messages but he said she had made a fool of herself and embarrassed him in front of the others, so they shouldn't bring it up again. Kate watched as he walked out, and then Angel watched her sit down, before swallowing, then turning and walking off.**

"Now there is one guy who could use some sensitivity", Xander said.

"Yeah, while Kate was whammied, she wasn't wrong about him", Willow agreed.

"Some people just don't like opening up", Tara said.

"Yeah, but he's just being a jerk about it", Buffy said and no one disagreed.

"I really hope Angel doesn't get that sensitive again", Dawn said.

"So do all of us", Giles said.

"Anyway, I guess we should watch the next one then", Buffy suggested and all nodded. "Good."

"Just, no sensitive Angel hopefully", Xander said.

"I think this was a one-time thing", Buffy said as they decided to start the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done with 6 episodes now. Now all the episodes from 1x7 to 1x11 are awesome for varying reasons, and I can't wait to do 'em all.
> 
> [1] Several creepy Demons have showed up in the Buffyverse, but I think we can all agree that the Gentlemen, Der Kindestod and Gnarl make it to the top 3, and the clown Xander saw in his nightmare was creepy too. I use to find 'em funny but after the clown killers, yikes!
> 
> [2] Just a reference to how bad the Disney Trilogy was, though at least The Mandalorian is amazing. FYI I don't think Jar Jar is the worst thing to happen to the franchise, even before the Disney Trilogy, though I could still do without him.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	9. The Bachelor Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch as Doyle's ex-wife is introduced and his backstory is finally revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

"Remember future you said she'd watch the next one with us?" Xander reminded.

"Yeah, and I have a feeling it's not pretty", Buffy said before they started it.

**Angel was reading a book as Doyle paced impatiently, saying they could go out to a Sports Bar but Angel wasn't interested and then Cordelia arrived in a stunning black strapless sheath, bragging about her wealthy date.**

"She looks stunning", Xander said, jaw dropped.

"Cordelia has a thing where she can look stunning when required", Buffy quipped.

"Especially since she's going out with a rich guy now", Willow said.

"Which means poor Doyle again", Tara pointed out.

**Doyle said just money couldn't make one happy so Cordelia bragged about his house in Montecito and Mercedes CLK 320, and a place in the hills with a lap pool.**

"I'm jealous", Xander muttered.

"I have a feeling it didn't last though", Willow told him.

**There was a knock as Cordelia said if she didn't return, they could clear out her desk as she'd moved up, and then her date Pierce arrived, complimenting her as they prepared to go but Angel wanted to be introduced, so Cordelia introduced them quickly and prepared to go, but Angel inquired a bit more about Pierce's work and where he was taking Cordelia out, and then asked Cordelia how late she would be, to which she said not to wait, and walked off with Pierce as Angel closed the door.**

"I think asides from money, he doesn't have anything", Dawn said.

"No, but right now, Cordy doesn't care much", Buffy said.

**Doyle was a bit dejected as he flipped through Angel's book, talking about how most of his family were Demons, and said it would make his chances even less than zero, and then a picture of Buffy fell out which Doyle picked up, complimenting her and asking Angel if she was an old squeeze.**

"Bit more than that", Buffy said, clearly uncomfortable.

"So he stills keeps pictures of you around", Tara said randomly.

"It hasn't been too long since we broke up", Buffy said.

**Doyle asked how she felt about a man with an Irish accent but on noticing Angel's expression, realized it was Buffy and apologized.**

"Well, that's done for", Giles said and Buffy sighed in relief.

**Then Doyle fell to the sofa in pain, seeing a guy hanging by his wrists on chains, and told Angel about a Vampire nest downtown who'd kill the boy, so they decided to go.**

"Another night, another mission", Xander said.

**At the restaurant, Pierce made some boring talk while Cordelia just stared at him with glazed eyes, and he asked if there was anything more exciting than that.**

"On the contrary, is there anything more boring?" Dawn asked and all shook their heads.

**Angel and Doyle battled the Vamps, Doyle getting thrown against a wall as his face got spiky, but he morphed back to human. A Vamp was about to hit him with a beer keg when Angel jabbed him with a piece of wood from behind, dusting him before they started leading the guy away, Angel asking why he shook off his Demon face when he was stronger that way, and Doyle saying he didn't like fighting that way.**

"Why does he not like his own Demon face?" Dawn wondered.

"Maybe he does not like an imaginary, potential evil of his demonic side and fears it", Tara said, and all realized she knew exactly what that felt like, since the men in her family had tricked the women for a long time into believing they were evil Demons.

"Anyone else notice these Vamps are punks?" Xander asked randomly and no one disagreed.

**Angel called him out over it but Doyle said it wasn't his style, and as they left, a burly Vamp with a topknot stepped the corner behind them.**

"So they missed one", Willow said and all groaned.

**Doyle walked the steps to Angel Investigations as the Vamp watched, and then Pierce arrived in his Mercedes, Cordelia having lied she didn't feel well.**

"After hearing that many boring stories, including the one with the pig and beans, who would?" Buffy asked.

"Not me for sure", Xander said.

**In spite of Cordelia's protests, Pierce decided to walk her back and then the Vamp arrived, making the two scream as he wrapped his hand around Cordelia's neck, with Pierce jumping into his car and burning the rubber off.**

"He just left her!" Xander said in an outraged tone, speaking for everyone who were worried for Cordelia.

"So, he's not just a bore but a coward too", Giles said.

"Somebody save her", Willow said in worry.

**Cordelia bit his arm, making him leave her but then grabbed her by the hair. Doyle then arrived, aiming a crossbow, trying to aim properly so he wouldn't hit Cordelia before shooting the Vamp on his left foot, making him scream as he threw Cordelia on the street behind him, before pulling the bolt out as he lunged at Doyle. They fought, rolling down the steps as the bolt fell free, and they scuffled, the Vamp beating Doyle down as Cordelia watched. Doyle tried to reach for the bolt as the Vamp tried to stop him but Doyle elbowed his face and picking the bolt, staked him finally.**

Everyone sighed in relief as Buffy said. "Now there's her hero."

"Yup, just the man Cordelia actually needs", Willow quipped.

**Cordelia slowly got up as she said Doyle was so brave, and Doyle jokingly asked her to say that without the shock, and Cordelia told him she was grateful.**

"Anyone thinking now Doyle has a chance?" Dawn asked.

"I do", Xander said.

"Me too", Tara added.

"Yup", Willow nodded.

"I think it's all of us", Buffy said.

"Yes it is", Giles agreed too. "Hopefully."

**Next day, as Angel looked at some papers, Cordelia bad mouthed Pierce, saying she'd thought if he ever saw a Demon he'd throw his shoe and run like a weasel, but the throwing shoe part was giving him too much credit.**

"Yeah, sure was", Buffy said.

"So I guess she is actually almost accurate at reading people", Xander said

"Sounds right to me", Willow told him.

**Angel said it was just human nature but Cordelia said now rich and handsome wasn't enough, she wanted a brave guy, blaming it on Angel and Doyle.**

"What about me?" Xander asked.

"I don't think she was attracted to your bravery, though you were brave", Willow said.

"Then what would it be?" Xander wondered.

"You're a nice guy, and sometimes girls do notice", Buffy assured and Xander nodded gratefully.

**Angel said she was changing now and it could be a good thing, and Cordelia complimented Doyle, saying how he had inquired about her well-being after the fight, showing his substance, and Angel said there was more to him than met the eye.**

"You have no idea", Tara said.

**Cordelia said she needed to kill herself as after going down that road with Xander Harris, she'd be dead than date a fixer-upper again.**

"Hey come on, I wasn't that bad before…..that happened!" Xander said lamely.

"Well, she loved you rather than just liked, so that would make her resentment deeper", Tara said and Xander nodded with a sigh.

**Cordelia said Doyle might have depths, and now she'd buy him a moccachino to thank him for saving her, and left soon. Doyle was reenacting the fight with a ruler when Cordelia arrived, making him feel embarrassed, and Cordelia said maybe he didn't have zero potential, making Doyle thank her.**

"If Cordelia says you don't have zero potential, she actually means you have a lot of it", Buffy said.

"You are well-versed in Cordelia speak", Willow noted.

"I was practically her before my calling", Buffy reminded everyone.

"Yeah, I remember", Dawn said with a groan.

**Cordelia said she appreciated Doyle when a blonde woman arrived, Doyle looking at her as she greeted him as 'Francis', and Doyle greeted her as 'Harry', confusing Cordelia while Doyle asked how she'd been, and she said she'd been touring, and when Cordelia asked who Francis was, he said his full name was Allen Francis Doyle, and Harry was his wife.**

"He is married?" Xander sputtered. "Then, what…..how?"

"I thought she was an ex, no idea they were still married", Buffy muttered.

"But based on how they're talking, they're clearly separated", Tara said.

"But not divorced", Dawn realized.

**Cordelia's smile vanished as she stared at Doyle while he and Harry shared some awkward talk before hugging as Cordelia looked away, shaking her head, and the two separated, Doyle crossing his arms while the two complimented each other, and then Angel came, Cordelia introducing Doyle's wife, and the two shook hands. Harry complimented the office as Doyle said he was a PI now, and this was his company with Angel and Cordelia being his helpers. Cordelia tried to protest but Angel elbowed her from behind, stopping her.**

"Aaaawkkwaard", Dawn sang.

**Harry told Cordelia she and Doyle were still married according to paperwork, and they used to be madly in love but things were different now, and then the door opened as a guy stuck his head inside, and walked in after sharing some words with Harry, introducing himself as Richard Straley, and assumed Angel was Doyle, calling him handsome before noticing the real Doyle and said he was good looking too.**

"Just not broody", Buffy said.

"Still awkward", Tara commented.

"Even more now", Willow said.

**Harry told Richard to shake Doyle's hand and he ended up mentioning their upcoming wedding, to Doyle's surprise, and Cordelia decided to sit down and listen but Angel lead her out with the excuse of some reports.**

"Now it's even worse", Xander said.

**Harry called Richard 'Hon bun' and asked him to leave so she could handle it, and he did, and then Harry said she was marrying him as he had a good heart just like Doyle, who wondered why she'd come to tell him, and she produced divorce papers for him to sign, and Doyle joked he should have his people look over so he doesn't end up buying an ostrich farm, Harry saying she'd come back in a few days. She put her hand on top of his but he pulled away as she turned for the door, calling him 'Francis' as she said it was good to see him again, but Doyle said he was just Doyle now, and she left with a nod.**

"With how they talked, it seemed like they have been separated for a long time", Dawn said.

"Yeah, but maybe a small part of Doyle had a fool's hope that this could still work somehow, and now that little hope has been taken away from him", Tara said and Dawn nodded in understanding, everyone feeling bad for Doyle.

"So just as Cordelia gets interested in him, his soon to be ex-wife drops this bombshell", Buffy said.

"Tough luck pal", Xander said to Doyle.

**Later, at his apartment Angel tried to pour Doyle a drink but he said Harry was right about those doing him no good, and Doyle said how the end had been rough since they hadn't even been 20 during their wedding, and they had fought a lot, with her walking out due to good reason, as he had changed from the man she had married.**

"Not even 20", Giles muttered. "Not so sound judgmental, but that doesn't really sound like an age where you should marry."

"Yeah, you're still very young, there are still things you need to do, changes you need to go through, marriage isn't really something that should be considered during that time", Xander said in agreement, still hating himself over breaking Anya's heart when he had obviously not been ready.

**Angel sympathized, Doyle saying they had been planning to have kids until his Demon self had showed up, and he hadn't even known due to never having met his father, and his mother had wanted to see if he carried his father's genes before confessing, and his Demonic side had shown up only when he was 21.**

"So that's how it happened", Buffy said, everyone sympathizing again. "Sounds like his Demonic side messed up his life."

"And he found out when he was 21, that's quite late", Tara said sadly. "Poor guy."

"We've been saying that a lot, haven't we?" Xander wondered.

"It's not untrue", Willow said.

**Doyle said it was for the best as Richard could give her a good life, but then prodded Angel to look into Richard, since if he did it, it would look wrong, and Angel agreed, just asking not to tell Cordelia as she'd charge him. Doyle happily patted his back before downing Angel's drink.**

"So now they are going to look into the upcoming husband", Giles commented.

"What could possibly go wrong?" Dawn said.

"A lot", Tara told her.

**Richard walked across a dark street with Angel following him on rooftops. Richard crossed the street and leaned into the window of a black car stopped at the corner. When he leaned back he had a small square package under his arm. He looked around to make sure no one saw him and walked off as the car drove away.**

"Behaving suspiciously already", Buffy said.

"Something's off", Willow agreed.

**Angel watched as Richard went to his steakhouse, and then he and Harry talked in the kitchen before he went into the wine pantry, pouring himself some wine. He then took a sip of it and morphed into a red-faced Demon, walking back to the kitchen, picking up a knife.**

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"So, he's a Demon too?" Xander blurted out.

"Looks like it", Buffy shrugged.

"And he is up to no good as well", Dawn said.

"Guess Doyle was right about him", Tara sighed.

**Richard walked behind Harry with the knife when Angel jumped in through a window and tackled him, hitting his face and stomach, though Richard didn't fight back, but Harry stopped him, revealing she knew he was a Demon and the knife was just for some box strings and the package just contained legal stuff to serve customers, Harry realizing Angel followed him due to Doyle.**

"Huh?"! All went together.

"So…..she knows huh", Dawn said lamely. "And now she knows Doyle sent Angel."

"So this is not gonna end well", Willow sighed.

"If she knows this guy's a Demon, then I don't think she'd have left Doyle because he was half-Demon", Buffy pointed out and no one disagreed.

"Let's see what happened then", Xander said.

**Richard didn't mind much as Harry said she was in good hands, and that Richard and his clan were Ano-movic, but totally peaceful and had assimilated into their culture, with Richard saying Harry was an ethno-demonologist and a good one, revealing how they'd met.**

"Huh, now this is even stranger", Dawn said.

"So they are a clan of peaceful Demons", Tara said. "That's a good thing then."

"And she studies Demons as a profession", Buffy commented. "That's new."

"How much does it pay?" Xander wondered.

"I have got no idea", Giles said.

**Harry then said she had freaked out over Doyle's changes at first but then gotten over it, and even encouraged him to go out and meet other Demons, and she considered the Demon world a rich one to be explored, but Doyle couldn't accept himself and was angry all the time.**

"So he did give her a reason to walk out then", Willow said. "It was just not the Demon."

"Couldn't accept it, can't totally blame him, it is hard to live with", Tara said sadly.

**Doyle was surprised on finding out as Angel looked up Ano-movic Demons and said they used to be violent but gave up their orthodox teachings later. Doyle said when Harry had tried to encourage him, he just thought she did it out of pity for him, but now he knew she was genuine. She hadn't left because of the Demon in him, she had left because of him. So he got up and with a sigh, signed the divorce papers.**

"It's over then", Buffy said.

"So it was him who made her walk out", Willow said. "And now it's too late to work out."

"Just hope they part on good terms", Xander said.

**Doyle later handed the divorce papers to Harry who thanked him as Richard shook his hand in appreciation, and Harry left for a copier, and then Richard decided to talk to Doyle. Harry told Cordelia that Richard wanted to ask Doyle to come to the Bachelor Party so he could get Doyle's blessings, and they were all very nice and sweet people.**

"They do sound like it", Xander said.

"A family of sweet Demons", Dawn said happily.

"It's like they are a family of Clems then", Buffy said and all chuckled.

**Harry then asked Cordelia to come and she agreed, while Richard told Doyle it'd mean a lot to both him and Harry.**

"So ex-husband and upcoming husband go to the latter's Bachelor party together", Buffy said. "I'm hoping someone finishes that joke."

**Later, at a nice house in a residential neighborhood, Richard's family sat together for dinner, including his mom, dad, brother, aunt and cousin, while his mom distributed a bucket of KFC chicken.**

"I'm jealous", Xander muttered. "And hungry."

"We can ask future us to give us that stuff", Willow suggested.

**His mom even knew about the hired stripper and Richard mentioned Doyle to them, saying he was sweet and all would like him, and also decided to submit to the stripper. And then his dad read stuff from the list, which included greeting him, then drinking, then bringing food, then drinking again, then the stripper, then darts, then ritual eating of the ex-husband's brains, and then charades. The brother looked up in surprise due to the charades, but all decided it would be fun.**

"Wait what? Eating the ex-husband's brains?" Willow asked and all gulped.

"Just when I of all people thought this clan was decent", Giles muttered.

"Here I thought these were actually nice people", Buffy sighed. "I'm guessing they didn't give up some of the orthodox traditions."

"And Doyle is going", Tara said.

"Really hope they change their mind, or he runs off", Xander said.

"They are not a family of Clems anymore", Dawn said, a little angry at this family now.

**Angel and Doyle arrived at the party at night, Richard hugging Doyle and introducing him to the rest of the family, and Angel joked about using the door this time. Richard then told everyone the party was more for Doyle than him, who was the real bachelor.**

"Yeah, considering he is going to be the delicacy", Xander said angrily.

"Leading him on like this only to kill him, its shameless", Buffy said. "And I don't think Harry knows."

**Richard and Doyle walked over to the bar as the former's brother and cousin talked in their tongue while Angel gave them a look so they gave a silly grin and he moved on. Richard and Doyle toasted to Harry and then Richard asked about how Harry was back when she was with him.**

"I am thinking younger and stupider, like everyone else", Willow said.

**At Harry's shower, she and Cordelia talked, with Harry revealing Doyle used to teach the third grade, to her surprise, and he had his teaching credentials for a long time, and he was also a volunteer at a soup kitchen. Aunt Martha then called them for pornographic pictionary time so they went off there.**

"The guy used to teach third grade?" Xander said in surprise. "Never expected that."

"People always have surprises up their sleeves", Tara told him.

**At the party, Angel wandered around as the rest wondered about the stripper, while Richard and Doyle talked more, and Richard said he felt like he was living in Doyle's shadow, and then finally asked for his blessing, but then he was led away and made to sit in a chair as the stripper came to him, and then Angel inquired about Doyle's well-being, and he said he was fine.**

"He won't be if something isn't done soon", Dawn said in concern.

**Angel followed the brother and cousin, ending up in an attic where Richard's dad bled his palm with a knife and the blood dropped into a pot, fire flaring up, and he chanted too.**

"He's onto 'em", Buffy said with a smirk.

"Which means Doyle will be saved soon", Willow sighed in relief.

**Cordelia was called up by Angel who asked to speak to Harry, and Cordelia gave the phone to her as Angel asked her to translate the Aratuscan chant, and asked her to look into it, to which she agreed. He then hung up but turned to face the cousin, who pushed him back, accusing him of disrespecting him. Angel denied so the cousin called him a liar and punched him twice before Angel retaliated, and then two more rushed up as a brawl ensued.**

"Now it's obvious they are not nice at all", Tara said.

"Yup, true colors are here for all to see", Xander agreed.

**The stripper danced around Richard as Angel now fought against 4 people, and was thrown headfirst into a wall. The four grabbed him and threw him headfirst into some wooden ventilation slats. He rolled down the roof, bounced off the lid of a metal trash container and came to rest unconscious on the ground in front of it. The cousin commented he couldn't hold his liquor.**

"Oh you horrible, horrible people", Dawn snarled at them.

"It's Angel, he'll make an entrance", Buffy said, remembering his entrance at the Battle during Graduation Day.

**Richard walked back to Doyle, commenting he hoped Harry never heard about it, and Doyle said now both he and Harry had a second chance. She could be happy without him in the way, so he gave Richard his blessing, but didn't want to hug. Richard then told everyone Doyle had given his blessing and consented, so all cheered.**

"So, in their language, blessing the marriage means consenting to having your brains eaten?" Willow said in disgust.

"Whatever helps them sleep at night", Giles told her.

**The dad and the ones who had beat up Angel surrounded Doyle and pushed him back into a red box with a hole on the top, locking him so just his head stuck out, and Richard said he appreciated the sacrifice as all of them turned Demon, with one of them injecting something into Doyle's head as it went numb, with someone putting a lobster bib on Richard who said they didn't want him to feel pain as they cut into his skull. Doyle watched as Richard was handed the curved knife.**

"Is that supposed to make it better?" Buffy asked angrily.

"Like I said before, whatever helps them sleep at night", Giles said.

**Cordelia and Harry looked at some books, Harry finding out this was about ingesting past love, and Cordelia knew it was Doyle, so Harry walked to the other ladies, asking them about it. Aunt Martha jokingly said they wouldn't eat her ex-husband's brains, and so the two women grabbed their stuff and hurried out.**

"Well, at least they are coming now", Willow said.

"Just hope someone reaches in time", Buffy said.

**Angel lay motionless on the street as Doyle called out for him, a guy marking a dotted line on his forehead, and Richard said Angel needed to be ejected for starting a fight.**

"Actually, you lot started it and ejected him", Dawn said angrily.

**Doyle asked how he'd explain it to Harry, and Richard said she loved and accepted their culture just like she did for him, and the dad scolded the brother called Nick for getting a shrimp fork and asked for a soup spoon. Richard told Doyle to bear with them as it had been a long time since anyone in the clan had married a divorcee, and the dad said ingesting a past love's brain would ensure a happy second marriage.**

"They really believe in all that crap?" Willow wondered.

"So, they are modern in a sense, but still orthodox in the worst ways possible", Buffy sighed.

**Doyle asked them to not cannibalize him but Richard said it'd just be him, and told Doyle not to back out after giving his blessing, eventually saying he'd be honored to eat his brains. Angel got back up outside as the cut disappeared and he morphed into Vamp face.**

"Oh yeah, now they're gonna get it", Willow smirked, everyone excited.

"Can't wait", Dawn said.

**The dad gave Richard a knife to make the first cut and all watched in anticipation when the double doors were busted off of their hinges, taking half the frame too as Angel stood there in his Vamp face. "The party is over."**

"Oh my, that was so badass!" Dawn said, everyone excited again.

"It's like he is a completely new and different kind of beast there", Buffy said in agreement.

"At least Doyle is saved now", Tara sighed in relief.

"Just in time", Xander said.

" **You brought a Vampire to my brother's bachelor party?" Nick asked Doyle incredulously.**

"Considering the Vampire is going to save him, good move", Giles said

**Angel threw an Ano-movic off, battling the others as he beat them up effortlessly, elbowing one and kicking another away as Richard watched in shock.**

"Still wanna eat his brains?" Willow asked.

"So, he is stronger in Vamp face as well", Dawn noted.

"And really pissed off", Buffy added.

**Richard tried to attack him with a knife but Angel spin kicked it out of his hands before kicking him back.**

"They are all so screwed", Xander said, everyone enjoying their beat down.

**Doyle's box on rollers was pushed around during the fight as one attacked Angel with a beer keg but was beaten, and then another grabbed him from behind but was tossed down too, and Angel threw another at Doyle's box, pushing it again as it hit a corner and the lock snapped open. Doyle put on his Demon face and said. "Harry says I should mix with other Demons, I'll mix!"**

"I bet they won't like him mixing around", Dawn said, satisfied.

**Angel was grabbed by 2 Demons as he kicked one away and then Doyle leapt at one of those two, throwing him down and punching off as another pushed him back. An old one grabbed Doyle but he head-butted him with his Demon face, making him back off in pain.**

Everyone cringed, touching their faces as Willow said. "It's like if a porcupine was thrown on your face."

"We don't need the visual, Will", Xander said.

**Angel and Doyle fought the Demons, with Doyle being thrown over a table when Harry ran in, stopping the fight, and Cordelia came in after her. Richard said lamely this was for guys only but Harry said she knew what he was up to. Richard said the stripper wasn't his idea, only shocking Harry more.**

"Now you're busted", Dawn said with a smirk.

"Let's see how he justifies it", Buffy said.

**Cordelia called Richard out for trying to eat her friend's brains, and then Doyle started sitting up next to Cordelia. Cordelia, still unaware of Doyle's Demon side, picked up a silver tray and proceeded to bash his face till Angel stopped her.**

Everyone cringed again as Buffy said. "Poor Doyle."

"I was expecting Harry would accidentally expose his Demonic side to Cordelia in this one", Tara said.

"Maybe some other time", Willow shrugged.

**Angel calmed Cordelia down as Doyle got back up behind her, now in his human face, and Cordelia spun around to see the marks on his head, remarking on what they had done to him as Doyle just nodded.**

"You did more than them", Dawn said and all chuckled.

**Harry inquired about Richard planning to eat Doyle's brains, and he said he was thinking of not telling her, and she was hurt he was going to start their new life together with deceit, though Doyle commented to Angel she was missing the point, and he nodded.**

"Yeah, she is", Buffy said in agreement.

**Harry called them out on their barbaric customs as they tried to defend them, but Harry reminded them that they never followed them, till now. A cousin called her a racist.**

"Is she though?" Tara wondered.

"If they weren't fooling her into thinking they didn't follow orthodox traditions till now, then they would have a foot to stand on", Buffy said. "Though eating a guy's brains, still horrible."

**Richard said his family would never consent unless he finished the ritual. Harry took his hand in hers while looking at Angel and Doyle, and then turned and walked off as Richard looked at the engagement ring she had returned to him. She walked by Doyle who opened his mouth but she warned him to shut up or she'd eat his brains.**

"Never try to talk to a woman who has just broken up", Buffy said from experience.

"At least she has left that guy now", Dawn said about Richard. "No more than he deserved."

"Yup", Tara agreed.

**Richard's brother and cousin stepped up to comfort him, bad-mouthing Harry.**

"See? Everyone but them are at fault", Xander said in disgust.

**Later, at Angel Investigations, Doyle got up from the computer to lay down on the sofa, as Angel and Cordelia watched, Angel saying he needed some time, and Cordelia said someone needed to cheer him up. Angel started going but Cordelia stopped him, saying he needed someone with a heartbeat.**

"Now he's gonna be even more depressed", Willow said and all chuckled.

**Cordelia walked to Doyle, saying he wasn't the only loser-pining guy since they had one in Angel, offending both the men.**

"See?" Willow asked.

**Cordelia said Angel could get away with it due to his looks, but Doyle had to move on and let it go, forget it, since there was another day, and then mentioned letting go again, making Doyle comment about it. Cordelia assured him he'd get through this as nice guys didn't always finish last. Doyle asked if she really found him nice, and she said. "I think it, I say it. That's my way."**

"Yes, that is", Buffy agreed.

"Looks like I was wrong, she is cheering him up", Willow said.

**Doyle thanked her, saying now he felt better when he doubled over with pain as Cordelia jumped from the sofa. He was having a vision, and then there was a blurry image of Buffy fighting 2 guys.**

"Huh?!" Buffy said in surprise. "He's having a vision about me?"

"Looks like it", Xander said.

"When would this be?" Willow wondered.

"I think I remember", Buffy said as she realized what this was. "This would be around the time those vengeful spirits of Chumash Indians arrived on Thanksgiving."

"Meaning the time Spike approached us", Giles sighed in remembrance.

**Doyle looked up at Angel as he asked what he had seen, and he swallowed as the screen went black.**

"So, we're going to see that from his point of view or something?" Dawn asked.

"No idea, but future me said she'd watch this with us", Buffy reminded.

"So, let's wait for them then", Tara said and they agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally, I find this episode underrated. Sure, it's not too special, but its fun IMO, and I love it.
> 
> Though Doyle having a vision of Buffy in trouble felt slightly contrived to me, I mean, she's in trouble every week, so he should be having painful visions of her like, all the time!
> 
> But anyway, I still liked the crossover a lot, and while I'm not a Bangel shipper, 'I Will Remember You' still makes me cry, mainly because Sarah's and David's performances is one of the few things Bangel has working for it, and they were intense in that scene.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	10. I Will Remember You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summers arrives to watch this recording, and it confuses all of the past people, up until the ending when they put all the pieces together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> So, I am sure all of you have waited for this episode right from the start, so I hope all enjoy it, and I hope I did a good job.

As the group had the next recording on their watch list, Summers arrived. "So, reached the 8th one?"

"Yeah, we were waiting for you", Buffy told her future self.

"Good", Summers said as she pulled up a chair and sat on it.

"So, would this be that Thanksgiving Day from Angel's point of view?" Willow asked.

"No, it's about what happened after that", Summers said.

"I don't think it would be that eventful", Buffy shrugged.

"Just watch", Summers said cryptically as Buffy started the recording.

**Angel winded and set a clock on his desk, the time being 8:53 as he then checked the table's surface, putting a pencil down and watching it roll across the desk. Cordelia and Doyle watched from outside, commenting on his state of mind, and Cordelia said he'd been in Sunnydale for 3 days where he had seen Buffy, tracking her and the thing Doyle had seen in his vision, so this had cut him deeper than usual, and hurricane Buffy was coming.**

"Not wrong about that", Xander said.

"Because you blurted it out", Willow reminded and he groaned.

"I don't think you were wrong to tell me though", Buffy told him and he nodded with a smile.

**Doyle said he thought Angel was over her but Cordelia said he had a lot to learn, and then Angel tested a stake on his finger, making the two run inside to stop him, Cordelia saying he shouldn't let Buffy get to him and that he would meet someone else, he just needed time. Doyle started taking the stake but Angel said he was using it to level the desk as the floor was uneven. He stuck the tip under the table's leg and assured he wasn't going to kill himself, making Cordelia pin it on Doyle.**

They all chuckled as Xander said. "Classic Cordy for you."

"Yeah, I know", Summers sighed sadly.

**Angel then said he hadn't visited her, just protected her and stayed out of sight. She didn't even know he was there. He assured that Buffy would always be part of him but she was human and he wasn't, and the goodbyes were done, so no need to stir this up again. Cordelia started. "You don't want to 'stir', but if my ex came to town and was all stalking me in the shadows and then left and then didn't even say 'hello' I'd be.." "A little upset", Buffy finished from the open door. Angel looked at her, his mouth dropping open. "Wouldn't you?"**

"There I am", Buffy said.

"We are", Summers reminded her.

"So now you're seeing you", Dawn said. "Seems weird."

"Let's just watch what's going to happen", Giles said.

"Nothing too much", Buffy told him, not noticing her future self's look.

**Cordelia awkwardly greeted Buffy who said she'd come to see her father and decided to drop by, with Cordelia giving a fake laugh as Buffy asked her how she was, and Cordelia said she was good before asking the same question to Buffy, who looked at Angel and said she'd been better.**

"Looks more than a little upset", Xander said.

"Well, he did lurk around without even letting me know", Buffy pointed out.

"And you know we are not rational when we're not in a good mood", Summers said and Buffy had to concede.

**Cordelia introduced Doyle and his power to Buffy before pulling him away to leave the two alone. Angel asked if he could get Buffy anything, and she said she wanted an explanation since he had come to town and followed her behind her back, with Angel apologizing, but Buffy was having none of it.**

"There it goes", Willow sighed.

"So, really, that guy?" Xander asked randomly. "Not asking because I'm jealous."

"Back then, I thought me and Angel were the best thing ever", Summers said. "Looking back, I can see the problems. He always made important decisions without me, and both of us just became stupid, lovesick puppies around each other. Sure, we loved each other, but that isn't the only thing required in a relationship."

"Yeah, I have recently began to see that too", Buffy said. "Which is why I didn't take him up on the offer he made."

"Which one?" Giles asked.

"Before the final fight, Angel showed to help me out against Caleb, and I said we could try it out again one day down the line, and he agreed, but honestly, now I think I just said it in the heat of the moment", Buffy revealed. "I loved Spike at that point. Sure Angel will always have a place in my heart, but Spike was the one."

"Maybe you are right about it being a momentary thing", Tara shrugged.

"And why did Angel agree at that point?" Dawn asked.

"He was hurting", Summers revealed. "Over something that had happened recently."

"Oh!" Buffy said, all realizing what Summers meant. [1]

**Buffy and Angel argued a little again, with Buffy saying he didn't find her important enough to tell her this, but Angel said she was too important, which is why he didn't.**

"That doesn't make any sense", Willow said.

"See? Lovesick puppies", Summers told them.

**Buffy said she was a big girl and not in High School anymore, and a lot had happened since he'd left, with Angel saying he respected that, and Buffy said she didn't need him skulking around anymore to protect her. Angel looked away as Buffy looked down, and she added unless there was a gigantic fight to the death, and then she realized Angel was helping as he said he was skulking around.**

"You can cut the melodrama with a knife", Xander commented.

"Tell me about it", Willow agreed.

"To be honest, was that really a gigantic fight to the death?" Giles asked. "I mean, it was hard, but we've done worse."

"Guess we still had some high school to get out of our systems", Buffy shrugged.

**Doyle and Cordelia were in the outer office, Doyle noting Buffy was the Slayer and Cordelia saying she was their Buffy, and Doyle said she seemed a little hurt.**

"I don't look Bulgarian!" Buffy snapped.

"It's Cordelia", Summers reminded and Buffy sighed.

**Cordelia said there was a lot of that when they were together and picking up her purse, decided to go, as the two would be there for a while, and they could get a cappuccino and the Director's cut of 'Titanic' in the meantime.**

"Yeah, there sure was a lot of hurt", Buffy said.

"He just always had you really worked up, and you always had him worked up too", Dawn told Buffy. "I mean, I get relationships should be serious, but crying all the time?"

"None of us could really see it back then", Willow said before turning to Xander. "Other than you."

"Yeah, I never approved, but a good part of it was motivated by jealousy as well", Xander told everyone.

"Whatever has happened, can't change it now though", Tara sighed.

"Yeah, that can't be changed", Summers said in agreement.

**Angel apologized for handling it wrong, and Buffy said whenever he was around but she didn't see him, she could feel him inside and it threw her, and Angel said it threw him too.**

No one commented, the double meanings of the words getting to them, as well as the intensity of the scene.

**Buffy said. "So let's just stick to the plan. We keep our distance until a lot of time has passed. Given enough time we should be able to.." "Forget?" Angel asked. Buffy said. "Yeah. - So, I'm gonna go - start forgetting." She turned to go when a green skinned Samurai demon with a curved sword and a red jewel in his forehead crashed through the window behind Angel and attacked him. Angel barely avoided the first strike of his sword but was kicked across the desk as Buffy called out to him.**

"Oh crap!" Xander said.

"Wait!" Buffy said as all looked to her. "It didn't happen this way!"

"What are you talking about?" Willow asked.

"Angel just smashed the gem before the Demon could do anything", Buffy said, remembering clearly.

"So, is there a problem with this specific recording or something?" Giles asked Summers. "That's why you are here?"

"No", Summers shook her head cryptically. "Just watch, it will all make sense soon."

**Buffy kicked the Demon against the wall as Angel threw an ax at it. Doyle and Cordelia were about to leave when they heard the fight, and Cordelia said first Buffy and Angel talked out their differences, then punched them out, and so they had no business here, since if they stuck their noses, they would be flattened, and they left, Doyle a bit hesitantly.**

"They actually thought that?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"Can you blame them?" Xander asked.

"Not really", Buffy said as she shook her head.

"And it was the same with Spike, at least before he got his soul back", Summers said and Buffy couldn't disagree. Soulless Spike was an even worse partner than Angel, though ensouled Spike was a better partner than Angel as well, and probably the best partner she could have had.

Of course she and Faith had tried it out recently, and it had gone well, but they had decided it wouldn't work out right now due to Buffy's lingering feelings for Spike, though Faith was mature about their break-up, and the two were still good friends.

Faith was the first time she had been in a relationship (both sexual and intimate) with a woman too, and it was a new and nice experience for them both.

And Buffy considered Faith her best relationship so far, since she and ensouled Spike hadn't actually gotten together before the unfortunate Battle of the Hellmouth. If they had, Buffy had a feeling he would be her best relationship.

**Buffy and Angel fought the Samurai, Buffy disarming it. Angel slid across the floor, picking up the demon's sword and stabbed it in the gut while it was still wrestling with Buffy. Some of its fluorescent green blood ran down the sword onto Angel's hand. The demon jumped back causing Buffy to land on top of Angel, pulled the sword out and jumped out of the window. Buffy and Angel stared at each other as they slowly untangled themselves from each other.**

"Okay, none of this happened, Angel beat the Demon and I left!" Buffy said in shock.

"Maybe the intensity of the moment made you misremember", Tara suggested to Buffy.

"I think I'd remember that much at least!" Buffy said.

"This happened", Summers said to Buffy. "But your memory isn't wrong either."

"And what does that mean?" Dawn asked.

"You will know in the end", Summers told them cryptically.

**Buffy said they needed to kill it and Angel agreed before asking if she could change somewhere. Later, the two tracked it through the sewer tunnels and Angel said it was heading to the ocean as he could smell it and Buffy complimented the skill, with Angel watching as she went on. Buffy said his crack staff could have helped if they hadn't run off at the first sign of trouble.**

"Okay, that was uncalled for, Buff", Xander said.

"Okay, first of all, I don't remember saying this, or even being in the sewers, second, how am I supposed to know that mine and Angel's fights are that feared by everyone?" Buffy asked.

"Okay, just calm down and watch", Summers said.

**Something rustled as Buffy spun around with a stake but Angel said it was just a rat and she lowered it, Angel wondering why she had brought this since the Demon wasn't a Vamp, and Buffy said she knew how to use it and that it was handier than his battle ax.**

"Really? A stake over an ax? Get out!" Willow said.

"Yeah, that sounds stupid", Buffy agreed. "But I don't remember."

"I know, but she looks and behaves like you still", Dawn told her.

**Angel argued about its efficiency as Buffy said she'd like to get this over with because he had helped her and she needed to pay him back, and Angel commented on them keeping score.**

"Couple or no couple, friends don't keep score", Summers told Buffy.

**Buffy looked around as Angel touched a green spot and sniffed it on his finger, and later Angel emerged out of the mouth of a tunnel, blinking his eyes with a frown. He told Buffy he felt weird and then she said she'd come to tell him face-to-face that they won't be face-to-face anymore but then had been attacked by a Demon ninja and ended up on top of each other, and now this was weird.**

"You sure you don't remember any of this?" Giles asked.

"I am sure, it didn't happen", Buffy said.

"Then what is this?" Dawn asked.

"Like I said, wait and watch", Summers told them all. "I was as shocked as you are when I first saw this."

**Angel corrected he felt weird from the Demon's blood and so she turned away, saying they should rewind and pretend her outburst didn't happen. Angel said when they're apart it hurt him but he could live with it, and now that she's here he could reach out but it was unbearable. Buffy told him they still had to bear, but Angel said he couldn't give her anything a real girl wanted, and Buffy inched closer, agreeing even though they missed each other, and Angel and Buffy both agreed to not let anything happen, but then Buffy turned away, quipping about heartbreaking sewer talks.**

"Oh, that one!" Buffy said, remembering their break-up before prom now.

"He was right to break up, but doing it before prom? Big no-no", Summers said.

"Yeah, that was a jerk move", Willow agreed, remembering when Buffy had cried on her lap later that day.

"He still did show up", Buffy reminded, grateful for that at least.

**Angel apologized as Buffy got angry at him, and Angel said he was out of the picture, so Buffy changed the topic to the Demon, wondering if it went up where Angel couldn't follow, so they decided to split up, Angel telling Buffy where she could go, and so Buffy climbed up after he told her to be careful.**

"Now who will meet the Demon first?" Willow wondered.

"Even if I did, I don't remember", Buffy said.

**Angel walked in the sewers as 2 green eyes watched him. Suddenly the Demon jumped out and attacked him from behind slicing across the palm of Angel's right hand as he spun around. Angel looked at the blood on his hand then vamped out and attacked. They fought. The demon sliced off the head of Angel's battle-ax, and Angel managed to knock the sword out of the demon's hand. The demon pulled his short sword and they continued fighting. In the end Angel managed to grab the demon's sword hand and turned its hand to stab it in the heart with its own sword. The demon fell back as Angel stared at the glowing green blood that covered his cut right hand. The blood swirled around and sank into his cut, which closed up in front of his eyes. A light raced from his right hand through his whole body as Angel collapsed with a strangled cry. Angel came back up gasping for air while the sound of a heart beating was heard. Angel stared at his hand in disbelief. "I'm alive."**

"What?" All the past people went together.

"He….he has a heartbeat", Xander said.

"He is living now", Giles said too.

"He is…..human?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah", Summers nodded.

"But…..he isn't!" Buffy then snapped.

"Is this like an illusion or something Angel is having?" Willow wondered.

"Yeah, maybe someone enchanted him right after you left and that's how this is happening", Tara agreed.

"Could be true", Dawn shrugged.

They looked to Summers who again said. "Wait till the end."

"Now you know how it feels", Dawn said to Buffy who groaned.

**Doyle and Cordelia entered the office and were in disbelief on seeing the destruction as Cordelia picked a handful of dust and said Buffy killed him before remembering this was dust under the rug she forgot to sweep.**

All chuckled at that.

**Doyle and Cordelia argued a little before Angel arrived with a dazed expression as Cordelia asked if he had done it with Buffy, Doyle stepping closer to Angel as Cordelia asked him to no get too close. But then Cordelia realized Angel had walked in the front door from the street, wondering if he had an umbrella, but Angel walked to where the sunlight was streaming in through the windows and was unaffected. Doyle realized Angel was alive now.**

"So, he is a human again, but this isn't real", Dawn said.

"Looks like it", Buffy sighed, feeling bad for him whenever he would snap out of it, assuming this was an illusion that is.

**Angel told them about the Demon and that it was dead, with its blood now affecting him as Doyle lay 2 fingers on his wrist and felt the pulse. Angel said he wanted to find out more about the Demon but his body was aching now so he was mortal and hungry. He looked at Cordelia as he said that, and so she jumped out of the way but Angel instead grabbed a donut on top of the refrigerator and stuffed it in his mouth, embarrassing her.**

"She is gold!" Tara said and all chuckled as it was true.

**Angel ate up anything he could get, saying he'd forgotten how good all this tasted when he was dead, with Cordelia commenting how they didn't have cookie dough fudge mint chip when he was alive, with Angel also biting chocolate and loving it, before drinking yogurt and hating it.**

"Who loves yogurt?" Xander wondered. "I think I like him now!"

"Yeah, chocolate is the best, and yogurt the worst", Dawn agreed.

"Everyone knows that", Tara shrugged.

The rest just snickered.

**Doyle brought Angel's attention to what was important so he told Cordelia to find Buffy, telling her where she was, but told her to not tell Buffy what had happened to him since he wanted to know what it meant. Later, Angel and Doyle researched Demons, finding an image of the one that had attacked Angel and Buffy, and Doyle read it was called a Mohra Demon, they were powerful assassins and soldiers of darkness. Their job was to take out warriors on the good side, like Buffy or Angel himself, and also needed salt to live, which panned out since that one was heading to salt water.**

"So, assassins tasked with taking out Champions", Buffy said. "Not met any after that."

"They will come when they feel you're all too threatening", Summers warned.

**Doyle then read its blood had regenerative properties, which explained what had happened to Angel, so Doyle said this was happy time, but Angel figured he wasn't telling everything so Doyle said the only way he thought Angel would become mortal was if The Powers That Be stepped in, and Angel wanted to know everything now, though Doyle warned they needed to be approached through dangerous channels, but Angel was persistent so Doyle agreed to contact the Oracles, while also warning Angel to not blame him if they turned him into a toad.**

"Turn into a toad?" Willow asked.

"Not the most pleasant people", Summers said.

**Later, the two were in an underground cave with a white stone arc as Angel read the inscription which said 'The Gateway for Lost Souls was under the post office', surprising him while Doyle said the Oracles were unpredictable so he needed to watch himself, and Doyle wasn't allowed to go since he was a messenger, and Angel was the pure-hearted warrior who was allowed. Doyle put a lighter to an urn and filled it with high flames, the arc glowing and filling with light as Doyle said Angel was in.**

"Now we meet the Oracles", Summers told them.

**Angel arrived in a white marble chamber, seeing two glittery figures, one man and one woman. They welcomed him and asked for an offering, surprising Angel, but then he held out his wristwatch with the woman took since she liked time and commented there was too much and too little of it.**

"Truer words have never been spoken", Dawn said.

**Angel inquired about what had happened to him, and they noted he was no longer a warrior, the woman saying he had faced a Mohra Demon and now life went on, and the man said now he shall live and die as a human, so now he was released from fealty. They started walking off as Angel asked if he was free but the man sent him flying back with a motion of his hand and he flew out of the arc on top of Doyle, and he helped him up as Angel said it had worked and he was free now, surprising Doyle as now he had a life before him. Doyle asked. "The question is, what do you want?"**

"At that point", Buffy said. "I can tell."

"You can?" Dawn asked.

"Because I wanted the same", Buffy sighed.

"Yeah, you guessed right", Summers told her.

**Buffy was walking in a park overlooking the beach. She then felt something and turned around as Angel stepped through a shadowed arch in in a hedge. She watched as he walked out into the sun towards and they kissed passionately.**

No one commented at this, though both Buffy and Summers could imagine how happy the Buffy in the recording felt, since at that time, being with Angel was all she ever wanted.

Buffy even remembered back in her final two years of high school that she used to have dreams where Angel walked into the sun just like that and they kissed, and it was all she had wanted. Now though, it wasn't, as she had grown up from that girl.

**It was five o' clock on the clock on Angel's desk as Cordelia fussed over a sickly plant, saying it had been thriving in the morning but wherever Buffy went, dark forces followed, and Doyle wondered if Buffy had given it mites.**

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Buffy said.

"Again, Cordelia talk", Willow reminded her.

**Doyle said Cordelia was jealous, though she immediately denied it.**

"Is she?" Buffy wondered.

"She could be", Tara said.

**Cordelia pointed out now both Buffy and Angel were spending time in his apartment, though Doyle pointed out Angel wasn't cursed anymore either. Cordelia sarcastically said they had the forbidden love of all time and had been apart for months, and now he was human, so sure they would just be having tea and crackers. At his apartment, Angel was pouring Buffy some tea.**

"You were saying?" Dawn asked.

"Well, I am not even at his apartment, considering this is probably an illusion", Buffy shrugged.

"Yeah, but then if Angel is experiencing an illusion, why are we seeing their point of view without him around?" Willow pointed out and now all the past people were silent.

"We must watch till the end to find out", Giles said finally.

**Angel apologized for kissing her like that as they might be rushing into things like that, and Buffy agreed, the tow agreeing there could be another loophole so they should wait a while to see if this mortal thing stuck, though it would still be complicated.**

"You're just saying that to convince yourselves", Willow said.

"I know", Summers told her.

**Angel said she was still the Slayer and he had no idea about himself, and he couldn't just force himself back into her life in Sunnydale, especially since she was starting college, and then moved to the chair next to her, saying he wanted her but also wanted to make sure this was right, so she doesn't get hurt. Buffy sarcastically said she hadn't fantasized about him turning human about 10 zillion times or this would have been a real let down.**

Buffy and Summers both thought about how right the Buffy in the recording was. They had dreams similar to Buffy's and Angel's earlier kiss so many times back in the day.

**Buffy and Angel decided to stay in touch and she turned to him, saying they'd talk soon, and she put her hand on top of his on the counter. They stared down at their hands. Angel turned his hand to grab hers then reached out and pulled her into a kiss. They stumbled up against the fridge and Buffy jumped up to wrap her legs around his waist, still kissing, Angel carried her over to the kitchen table, swept the stuff on it on the floor and laid her down on it.**

Giles took off his glasses to clean as the rest just looked away while Buffy asked Summers. "Okay, was it really necessary to include all that?"

"I asked my Willow and Tara to remove this kind of stuff!" Summers said incredulously. "Oh I'm gonna kill those two!"

She then turned to their past selves, who looked at each other and then back at her.

"We didn't do anything", Tara reminded.

"Yes, it was future us", Willow said.

"They're not here, you are", Summers said as they gulped.

"Though for some reason, I saw you two kissing coming from a mile away", Dawn said to Buffy and Summers about the recording.

"That's what happens when you see everything", Buffy groaned.

**At night, a naked Angel was getting stuff from the fridge and eating some as Buffy asked for crunchy peanut butter, so Angel took it and walked back, dumping the stuff on the bed and sitting there, wrapping his blanket as Buffy, dressed in a black robe, smiled, and he fed her a spoon of ice cream as she said he was human for a minute and there was cookie dough fudge mint chip in the fridge.**

"So, Cordelia mentioned it and now he has it!" Dawn said, but no one else commented, just watching the scene.

While this relationship may not have been the healthiest, one thing no one could say was that Buffy and Angel didn't love each other, it was just their handling of it that wasn't the best.

**Angel said he loved food and Buffy fed him some ice cream on a chocolate waffle, agreeing food was good. Angel asked why she hadn't ever told him about chocolate or peanut butter, and she said his Vamp buds couldn't take it, and also said now there was no need to be mature as the time he had spent in the fridge was enough time apart, and Angel agreed, though when they kissed some ice cream dipped from his spoon onto his chest, him joking mortal coordination left something to be desired but she said it was just right. Angel laughed as Buffy licked up the ice cream and he pulled her into a kiss.**

"Now he knows how we mortals live", Willow said, everyone deciding it was best not to comment on the ice cream moment.

"Well, he would have lived like that once, long ago", Tara pointed out.

"Yeah, but he'd have been Vamp a lot longer", Xander said and no one disagreed.

"So, you two got your happy ending here? Except it never happened", Dawn said to the two Buffys.

"Yeah, it didn't last", Summers said cryptically.

"So, it did happen?" Giles asked.

"It did, and then it didn't", Summers simply said.

"We're about to reach the end soon though", Buffy said.

**Cordelia and Doyle drank at a bar, the former groaning about how she was jobless, and she was good for exactly 2 things- International Superstardom or helping out a Vampire with a soul.**

"Is she really good for the first one?" Dawn asked.

"She is, and she could have been an International Superstar", Summers told Dawn. "Don't underestimate her."

**Doyle was just glad he was free of the visions now when his head hit the bar and he saw blurred images of the Mohra demon attacking Angel, and he told Cordelia of trouble.**

"It's back?" Xander wondered. "Or is it another one?"

"The only way to destroy one is to smash the gem on the forehead", Giles said, now remembering. "So it was bound to come back."

Everyone groaned.

**Buffy and Angel lay peacefully in bed as she liked the sound of his heartbeat and felt pleasantly numb, wanting to stay awake so the day could keep happening. Angel told her to sleep so they could make another like it the next day, and Buffy told Angel this was the first time she had felt like a normal girl in the arms of her normal boyfriend. It was perfect. He kissed the top of her head as she fell asleep.**

Once again, no one commented. Buffy did want to be a normal girl with a normal boyfriend for a long time, but now she knew her duty as Slayer came before all, so a relationship with a normal guy just wasn't going to work out for her.

Summers just wondered how she and the others would react to what was about to come.

**Angel watched her sleep before getting up on hearing the door, and putting on a robe, let Doyle in, who told him about the Mohra demon regenerating, and that it was angry, so Angel decided to kill it again, but Doyle pointed out he was human now, and it could regenerate. Angel asked him to grab the book and read while he drove. Doyle looked at the sleeping Buffy and said they might need her but Angel put on his sweater and said he wouldn't wake her for the world.**

The line was touching, all had to admit.

"It's sweet, I know", Summers said. "But again, he is trying to baby us."

Buffy and the others looked at her as she said. "Now we did love each other, that is true, but he always tried to baby us and made important decisions by himself."

"So, not the healthiest, I get it", Buffy said with a nod, though she still remembered the good stuff too, like how much they loved each other.

Their relationship may not have been the best thing ever, but it wasn't worst either. It was a mixed bag really.

**Later, at the saline plant, Angel and Doyle walked together as Doyle read the book unaware of the Mohra Demon watching them. Doyle said it was bigger and stronger now so they needed Buffy, but Angel said he needed to do this on his own to make it work and he couldn't risk her life every time someone came at them. He asked how to kill it as Doyle read that 'to kill the beast one must bring darkness to 1000 eyes', Angel joking he only saw two as Doyle said the glibness made him think they could win.**

"Is that why you joke in a fight?" Tara asked Xander.

"Yeah, that's why", Xander nodded, not believing he could relate with Angel currently in this aspect at least.

"You may not want me to risk my life every time, but doesn't mean you should either", Buffy said about Angel, and no one disagreed.

**Angel saw 2 corpses and gagged from the smell, Doyle saying it was part of being human now, and then the Demon jumped down at them from above.**

"So it begins", Willow said.

**Doyle was easily knocked away as Angel tried to fight but was beaten back too. Doyle attacked again but was kicked away while Angel fought but was overpowered, though he did manage to land one punch but the Demon didn't budge. It threw Angel the other way and put its foot on the sword to prevent him from picking it, so he finally ran.**

"He is skilled, but being used to his Vampire enhancements for so long, he can't fight the way he used to", Giles said. "And the Mohra Demons are above your average Demons."

"Yeah", Buffy said, not surprised at how easily human Angel had been beaten, though it was sad to see.

**Cordelia was putting sticky notes in the office as Buffy arrived, and Cordelia asked about an ax if it was ornate, and Buffy said it was Byzantine, so she nodded and put it down. Cordelia started talking about her future plans but Buffy kept asking about Angel, though Cordelia said Angel had told her not to tell, but Buffy was adamant, reminding they weren't in second grade now, so Cordelia pointed out Buffy should grow up and realize she couldn't have Angel and save the world as he had gone off to fight that thing without her, now revealing about it to her.**

"The beans are spilled", Dawn said.

"Keeping secrets again", Xander noted.

"He is great normally, but with us, he always has to behave like an idiot", Summers told Buffy.

"I can see that", Buffy agreed.

**Angel was beaten down by the Mohra Demon again and again before climbing on the lid of a salt silo but the Demon jumped and hit him as both crashed through. Angel rolled over and tried to crawl away when the Mohra Demon put his foot on Angel's neck and raised his sword. "The end of days has begun and can't be stopped. For anyone of us that falls, ten shall rise."**

"Isn't that what Hydra says?" Xander said. "So, these are the Hydra organization of Demons, got it!"

"End of days", Buffy said in a whisper.

**Buffy then jumped down, kicking the Demon away as she picked up his sword. "You hurt my boyfriend." "A great darkness is coming", the Mohra Demon said. Buffy agreed as they clashed and he disarmed her but she kicked him into a wall in a spin motion, mocking him. He charged with his morgenstern but she avoided and spin kicked him back a few times before trapping it under her foot and punched him a few times, before he picked her up and tossed her into a wall.**

"They sure are something if one can fight you that well", Willow noted.

"Yeah", Buffy agreed. "This one packs a punch."

**The Demon picked Buffy up by the throat. "Together you were powerful. Alone, you are dead. What do you think of the great warrior now?" Angel picked a handful of salt. "Little bland. Needs salt." He threw it into his eyes, making him drop Buffy. Angel tried to help her up but the Demon tossed him away before picking up Buffy, though she hit him and freed herself. Angel now realized its jewel needed to be smashed and told Buffy, who picked the morgenstern as the Demon picked his sword and charged but she twirled it and hit his gem, making him scream as he vanished in a bright light.**

"There it goes", Giles said, relieved, and seeing his Slayer in action always made him proud. Though no one looked forward to the conversation that was coming for sure.

**Buffy ran to Angel and took his head in her lap, inquiring about his well-being as she said it was over and they could be together while kissing his forehead.**

'We can't', Buffy said in her head.

**Later, Angel came to the Oracles again, tossing a Famille Rose Vase of the Ching Dynasty, Circa 1811 to the woman as offering, which she liked, and asked if the Mohra Demon was telling the truth. The man said he was, and Angel asked what would happen to the Slayer when that happened. "What happens to all mortal beings. Albeit sooner in her case", the woman said, horrifying Angel as he realized she'd die, now begging for her life.**

"I will die in the apocalypse?" Buffy asked in shock.

"We could have", Summers said.

**The Oracles started walking away, saying they weren't the ones to grant life or death, so Angel asked them to take back his instead, as he couldn't protect her or anyone else as a man, and they turned to look at him. The woman realized he wanted to be a Demon with a soul for the Slayer, and the man said matters of love didn't concern them, but Angel said. "Yes, it does. The Mohra demon came to take a warrior from your cause - and it succeeded. I'm no good to you like this. I know you have it in your power to make this right. Please."**

"Unless they're pranksters", Dawn joked to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

**The man was adamant but the woman said what wasn't done could be avoided, the man warning her temporal folds weren't to be indulged in at the whims of lower beings, but the woman said he was wrong as he was willing to sacrifice all human happiness and love for another, so he wasn't a lower being.**

"No he's not", Summers whispered. He had sacrificed happiness for her, and then Connor too. Was it unethical what he did? Yes. Was it done out of malice? No. It was done out of pure love and care.

**The man told Angel there was one way but wasn't to be taken lightly, and the woman said they'd swallow the day as if it never happened, 24 hours from the moment the Demon first attacked, they'd take it back. Angel licked his lips, realizing none of this would happen, and inquired what would stop them from doing the same thing again. The woman said. "You. You alone will carry the memory of this day. - Can you carry that burden?"**

The eyes of all the past people widened as Buffy's jaw dropped, her heart almost stopping, all of them finally putting the pieces together.

Buffy looked at Summers for confirmation. She nodded.

Buffy's breaths were uneven as she turned back to look at the TV, knowing what was coming.

"He changed the..." Xander trailed off.

"He did it for me!" Summers said firmly. "So I could live. I can't hold it against him."

"You okay to watch?" Tara asked in concern and Buffy nodded, more to convince herself than the rest.

**At the clock on Angel's desk, it was 8:56, and Buffy was pacing wearing a long flowery dress as Angel arrived, asking what had happened and where he had been, and he said he'd gone to see the Oracles to turn time back, to her shock. "Because more then ever I know how much I love you." Buffy backed away from him. "No. No, you didn't." Angel follows her. "And if I stayed mortal one of us would wind up dead, maybe both of us. You heard what Mohra said." Buffy said. "Mohra is dead. We killed him." "He said others would come." Angel reminded. "They always come. And they always will. But that's my problem now, not yours, remember?" Buffy asked. "No, I won't just stand by and let you fight, maybe die, alone." Angel said. "Then we fight together." Buffy said. "You saw what happened last night. If anything I'm a liability to you. You take chances to protect me, and that's not just bad for you, it's bad for the people we were meant to help." Angel said.**

No one could bring themselves to comment, the scene just too emotional for anyone to say a word.

Buffy wanted to go into the recording and argue with this Angel for some reason, perhaps because while she knew the relationship wouldn't work, part of would always love him. But, he was right, he was a liability to her now, like Riley was, which had made him feel insecure and become a jerk. As human, he couldn't do too much for her now.

**"So what? You just took a whole 24 hours to weigh the ups and downs of being a regular Joe and decided it was more fun being a superhero?" Buffy asked Angel. "You know that's not it. How can we be together if the cost is your life, or the lives of others?" Buffy just stared at him and after a moment he took her into his arms. "I know. I couldn't tell you. I wasn't sure - if I could do it if I woke up with you one more morning." Buffy sniffled. "I understand. - So, what happens now?"**

Yes, she did understand, Buffy thought to herself, even if she didn't like this. Summers' face was an emotionless mask, having seen this once before, but it still hurt.

**"The Oracles are giving us back the day, turning back time, so I can kill Mohra before his blood makes me mortal." Angel told her. "When?" Buffy asked. Angel looked over at the clock. It was 9:00."Another minute." Buffy was crying now. "A minute? No. No, it's not enough time!" "We don't have a choice. It's done." Angel said gently. "How am I supposed to go on with my life knowing what we had? What we could have had?" Buffy snapped. "You won't. No one will know but me." Angel revealed to her.**

Buffy was almost in tears now, feeling a lump in her throat as Dawn grasped her hand, though even she was rendered speechless with emotion by this scene. The others were the same, even Giles.

**"Everything we did." Buffy trailed off. "It never happened." Angel said. Buffy shook her head. "It did. It did. I know it did!" She put her hand on his heart. "I felt your heart beat." "Buffy.." Angel trailed off as they kissed.**

"It did", Buffy said in a hoarse voice, trying to keep her cool as Giles now wrapped an arm around her too.

**Buffy looked over at the clock. The minute was almost up. "No! Oh God. It's not enough time." Buffy cried. Angel was crying too now. "Shh, please. Please." They held each other tightly both crying. "Please, please." Angel begged. Buffy cried in denial into his ear. "No. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget." There was a white flash and next moment, Angel was in his office the previous day.**

Buffy had tears dripping from her eyes now, even Willow, Tara and Dawn did, being sensitive individuals, while Summers' breathing was uneven, and Xander and Giles were both watching with dropped jaws, the former even running his hand over his hair while breathing heavily, though Giles managed to not show any emotion.

**Angel leaned back to his desk, blinking, before seeing Buffy at the door as she said. "So, then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed, and given enough time - we should be able to.." Angel stared at her and swallowed hard. "Forget." Buffy said. "Yeah, so I'm gonna go, start forgetting." The Mohra Demon then crashed through the window behind Angel with a scream. Angel just turned, grabbed the clock from his desk and coolly smashed the Mohra's jewel with it. The Mohra went up in a flash of light.**

"There it goes", Xander muttered, still running his hand over his hair.

This is exactly what Buffy remembered happening, having been completely unaware of Angel's time travelling, until now.

**Buffy was stunned, wondering how he had managed to kill it and Angel said he had time to read and catch up. Buffy nodded slowly. "Yeah. Okay. - So I guess we've covered it, right?" "I guess we did." Angel replied. "And that's all there really is to say." Buffy said. Angel took a deep breath and looked down on the smashed clock. It stopped at 9:02. When he turned back Buffy was already leaving the outer office. "Yeah. - That's it."**

That was it for Buffy. She got off the couch and walked off, her face in her hands as they heard her sobbing.

Willow, Xander, Dawn, Tara and Giles were all about to go after her when Summers got up instead. "Stay here, I'm going."

And with that, she walked out to talk to her past self.

"Well this was….." Willow trailed off, not sure what to say, having a lump in her throat herself due to the emotional scene she had just witnessed.

"He sacrificed a life with her for her", Tara just said, not sure what else to say herself. "And he has been living with that memory all this time."

Dawn just had no comments, she just couldn't say a word. While she always remembered Buffy crying over Angel, she did remember they loved each other in a way she couldn't describe, and this just proved it.

"My poor sister", she just muttered to herself.

"Not gonna lie, even I have no comments for once", Xander of all people said, and that was the most positive emotional response one could get from him in response to Buffy's and Angel's relationship.

"So, time travel, huh, it happened before this", Giles said, not sure what to say on Buffy and Angel, since there was not a word in his mind which could describe how he felt about what had just happened.

There was silence for a full minute.

"Hungry?" Xander finally asked.

"Yeah", Willow said.

"After this, we could use a bite", Tara agreed.

"Let's go then", Dawn said.

"Yeah, would be a good move", Giles agreed, all wanting to get their minds off of the emotions they had been subject to. And so they got up and walked off, out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. Hope the reactions didn't disappoint.
> 
> Now like I said, I don't like Buffy/Angel much, but this episode still got me emotional. Overall, for me, Buffy/Angel is a mixed bag, in that there are times I do genuinely like it, but there are issues I have with how it played out which is why I don't support it.
> 
> But one thing I can't say is Buffy and Angel didn't love each other. They loved each other, and I think part of them always will, even if the love of their lives are Spike and Cordelia respectively, but due to being a passionate (if unhealthy) romance, they are going to have a bond till the end.
> 
> But still, Bangel is unhealthy at the end of the day and outside of Sarah's and David's chemistry and 'Close Your Eyes', it doesn't have much going for it.
> 
> And while yes, Buffy has moved on from the relationship with Angel, seeing this would still be upsetting tbh.
> 
> [1] Now while I have a mixed opinion on Bangel, that bit in the final 2 episodes of Buffy Season 7 seemed out of place to me personally. By that point, Buffy is clearly in love with Spike (you can't change my mind) and Angel with Cordelia, so this proves my point of the two regressing whenever they meet again after Buffy Season 3, and my explanation is Angel at the time was hurting due to the recent stuff with Connor and Cordelia so he ended up looking to her for momentary comfort. Why she accepted, I can't explain tbh, but like I said, that's my opinion. Buffy 4x20 was the official end of the Buffy/Angel romance for me. I like them a lot as friends, but as a romance, not a big fan.
> 
> Anyway, next chapter will be a break again, after this episode, they need it, and then 'Hero'…oof! Another emotional one.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	11. Break II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy is comforted by her future self after what she has seen in the latest recording.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

Summers found Buffy near a window, trying to wipe her tears, though the sound of her sobs was still pretty audible.

"Hey", Summers said, putting a hand on her shoulder from behind as Buffy turned to face her future self, tear tracks on her whole face.

"How can you be so calm after seeing that?" Buffy asked in a husky tone.

"I saw it once before, remember?" Summers reminded. "And my reaction was just like yours, even worse due to stuff that happened recently."

"I and Angel, we could have had….." Buffy trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence, or just not able to due to the emotions within her. "Then he just…had time turned back by 24 hours!"

"He did it for us", Summers reminded. "He prefers that we live and are not with him over being with him but not alive."

"Yeah, I know, but in that timeline", Buffy said, still not over it. "We had it all, I had it all, what I wanted at the time, and then it was all undone."

"Yeah, you're thinking you and Angel could have had a happy life before you died eventually", Summers said and Buffy didn't deny, since that was what was going on in her mind right now.

"I know it's selfish, but it's just not leaving my mind now", Buffy said.

"Yeah, I get it, and it's a human thing", Summers shrugged. "We Slayers aren't robots, right?"

"No, we aren't", Buffy said with a sigh. "Guess it's a good thing then that I feel this way."

"Yeah, but remember, even if we and Angel had a happy life in that future, many others would have had to pay the price for it", Summers reminded. "Including us. And being with Angel may had been all we wanted back then, but with how our relationship with him had played out, you think it would have actually worked out in the long run?"

Buffy tried to respond, but she couldn't really think of a good response to her future self's arguments, since her future self wasn't wrong.

"Like I said, he is a great guy, but when we are together, it regresses us and brings out the worst in us", Summers told Buffy. "He always tries to baby us and treat us like a kid when we're together, as if we can't handle responsibility and problems on our own. He decided to risk his life just because he wanted to be a warrior while also being with us."

Buffy thought about what Summers had said and again, didn't have it in her to disagree. She didn't see her relationship with Angel with rose-tinted glasses anymore, or more accurately, high school nostalgia in her mind.

Was he a great guy? Sure, he was amazing. But were she and him good for each other? No, they weren't. Even if they loved each other, that didn't mean they were good for each other. Their way of handling their relationship was bad, and there was just too much baggage now.

"You're not wrong", Buffy said to her future self. "We are both good people, but not good for each other clearly. And he did it for me, so while not ethical, I can't hold it against him. He was thinking about me and many other people when he decided to take that step. Just not himself."

"Which is what a hero has to do", Summers said and Buffy nodded. "Come on."

The two walked into the dining room, where the past and future versions of the Gang were already eating, and the two then took their seats.

"You okay now?" Tara asked Buffy before any of the other Scoobies could.

"Yeah, I'm good to go now", Buffy sighed as she looked at her future self gratefully. "It's all good now."

"You sure?" Willow asked.

"Yeah", Buffy said.

"I'm here for you if you aren't", Dawnster offered.

"We all are", Giles assured.

"Just say the word", Xander agreed with a nod.

"I'm fine, you guys", Buffy said before smiling. "But I appreciate it."

They nodded and continued eating as Willow then said. "So, time travel was done long before you decided to bring all of us here."

"Yeah, just not by mere mortals, rather the Oracles of the Powers That Be", Maclay told them all. "And they only do that when they feel it is absolutely necessary."

"And when do they feel that?" Tara asked.

"No one knows, they are mysterious, their motives are not known to us mere mortals", Rosenberg said. "Though I wish they were, since it would make all of this much simpler."

"Yeah, but when are Higher Beings ever simple? They get their kicks from being complicated and making people jump through hoops", Dawn told them all.

"Truer words have never been spoke", Dawnster said.

"We can't afford to ask them to do stuff for us, so now we do it ourselves", Harris told them all before looking at Rosenberg and Maclay. "So we just had them do the time travel spell instead, it was risky, but it worked, and we really don't care what any of the Higher Beings think of this move, since if they have any brains, they would approve of this."

"This mess that happened is really bad, isn't it?" Buffy asked. "If you're doing what even Higher Beings rarely do?"

"Like you have no idea", Summers said with a sigh. "And sad thing is, what happened wasn't even what Angel turned back time for, though we thought for a long time that it was."

"So, horrible stuff happened, and it was all for nothing", Xander muttered in a disgruntled tone. "Typical. Very typical."

"You also said you'd be watching some recordings after the first 22 of them with us", Willow reminded the future people.

"Yeah, all of us will be watching that one", Rosenberg said. "Those ones are important."

"I believe all of them are", Giles said.

"Yeah, in one way or the other", Summers said, the food finally being finished.

"So, I guess you won't be joining us on the other ones before the first 22?" Buffy asked her future self.

"No, I think you can get through them on your own", Summers said as they all got up. "Though I have to warn you, next one is pretty brutal too."

"Thanks for the warning", Dawnster said, all wondering what would happen in the next recording that could be worse than this one.

With that, they parted ways again as the past people made their way to the viewing room and the future people went on with their normal routine for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Break II is done finally. These breaks are definitely harder to write than the viewing chapters, even if they're shorter ones, since I'm not going to reveal what happened in the future this early, just offer cryptic hints at best, and so I have to make up some content to stretch it out to 1000 words at least.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	12. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch the ninth recording, and are stunned into silence and grief by the end of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> And this chapter was hard to write as well, for obvious reasons, and hope all like it.

All sat in the viewing room again in the same order as before as Willow said. "Now I'm wondering why this recording is supposed to be even worse than the previous one."

"Well, we'll see very soon", Tara said. "Though I think I don't want to."

"It must be very brutal", Buffy said as she turned the recording on.

**It was night in LA as Cordelia's voice was heard. "Okay, we fade up on an aerial shot, downtown, skyscrapers, lights, yada, yada, yada. We hear a narrator, preferably famous - maybe that bald Star Trek guy or one of the cheaper Baldwins, and he says: 'it's a big, bad city out there.' Cut to a woman walking down a dark, spooky street - alone. We'll cast some beautiful, young actress, maybe an up-and-coming starlet whose carrier is on the verge of taking off." Cordelia was shown walking down the street.**

"Not quite accurate there, Cordy", Xander said.

**Cordelia continued. "Anyway, she's all nervous, right? Mucho vulnerable. The voice guy says: 'danger lurks around every corner.' Boom! She's attacked by a big, ugly goon, with a knife." A goon attacked with a knife as Cordelia tried to escape while the voice over Cordelia said. "She screams." And then the Cordelia in the scene continued. "Help! Is there no one to help me?" The voice over Cordelia said. "Well now there is someone to answer your call." A dark figure in a long trench coat appeared. "He'll protect you," The dark guy kicked the goon away, then beat him up, making his knife fly into the air as Cordelia watched. "Catch you when you fall! You can count on it." The guy turned, revealing himself to be Angel. "And you can count on me, because I'm the Dark Avenger."**

Everyone laughed as Dawn said. "Not to be rude, but her acting wasn't very convincing."

"Yeah, but Angel…." Buffy trailed off, laughing, just like the rest.

"The Dark Avenger?" Xander laughed too.

**Angel was sitting on his desk, looking up at Cordelia, asking about the name again as she said he was 'The Dark Avenger', finding it perfect and making plans for the ad, but Angel started walking off while Cordelia said they needed self-promotion to not be broke anymore, but Angel went into the elevator and closed the grate. Cordelia annoyingly asked if Angel was in a permanent funk due to Buffy showing up to town, but the elevator went down as Cordelia ranted about how their business was suffering.**

Everyone winced at Buffy's mention, including Buffy herself, the events of the previous recording still fresh in their minds, and they could only imagine how Angel was feeling about it all.

**Doyle told Cordelia advertising about a superhero who only went out in the night could raise Vampire suspicions, and they had no license either, though Cordelia said they didn't need one when they didn't even have clients. Doyle assured they'd manage but Cordelia said they needed to project the right image first, and then said Angel was wrong for this commercial due to being a larger than life character.**

"Yeah, that he does feel like sometimes", Buffy said, referring to his mysterious persona.

**Cordelia said they needed an average, ordinary and relatable person, and looked at Doyle, deciding to prepare him for the commercial over his protests as she was adamant, saying they needed this. Doyle muttered how they didn't need evil with her around but she heard.**

"Poor Doyle again", Dawn said.

**Doyle was then seen through a camera as he said. ""If you need help. Then look no further. Angel Investigations is the best! - Our rats are low." "Our rates!" Cordelia corrected. Doyle pointed to the papers taped on the windows behind her. "It says 'rats'." He continued anyway. "Our rates are low, but our standards are high. When the chips are down, and you're at the end of your rope you need someone that you can count on. And that's what you'll find here - someone that will go all the way, no matter what. So don't lose hope. Come on over to our offices and you'll see that there's still heroes in this world." He cleared his throat. "Is that it? Am I done?"**

"Not the best ad", Willow commented.

"But at least he tried", Tara said. "He did put his heart in this."

No one disagreed.

**Cordelia said she was getting weasel vibes rather than every man ones, though Doyle disagreed, and Cordelia apologized for the weasel comment before saying she felt hopeless due to Angel's non-profit brooding, and he didn't have a heart so she wondered how it could be broken.**

"Just because it doesn't beat doesn't mean it doesn't exist", Buffy said.

**Doyle pointed out seeing Buffy got him where he lived, but Cordelia said they lived here too, and suggested getting Angel a costume, like tights and a cape. Doyle imagined it and said it was disturbing.**

"Thanks for the upcoming nightmares, Cordy", Xander said as all imagined the sight and laughed.

"Or maybe he can dress up as Batman", Dawn popped up. "That would be fun."

"Yeah, that can look better on him", Tara agreed.

**Angel was working out against a punching bag as Doyle arrived, joking how Cordelia was not sad enough to cry in his arms but if he kept this up, she would be. He then sympathized, saying his ex had been around for 5 minutes and he'd been a wreck, but Angel said Buffy had been around for more than that. Doyle said it could be 10 minutes but no one was counting, and then Angel said she'd been there for a whole day and night.**

"Looks like he is about to tell him", Giles said.

"He alone couldn't take that burden", Buffy noted sadly.

**Doyle commented one of them had been drinking but then Angel inquired about the Oracles, shocking Doyle, mentioning the Mohra Demon had gotten away after attacking him the first time, confusing Doyle even more as Angel mentioned tracking and killing it, and the blood mixing, and the trip to the Oracles, which again puzzled Doyle as he'd remember, and then Angel sat down and revealed. "The Oracles told me that I was released from my duty. Buffy and I were together until - we realized it couldn't be. - We don't belong to ourselves. We belong to the world, fighting. - So, I went back to the Oracles and I asked them to turn back the clock... as though that day had never happened."**

"It's out now", Xander said.

"At least one more person knows now", Tara said. "He needed to let that out at some point."

**Doyle was surprised Angel had given up the one thing he'd wanted in his long life, and said Cordelia was right about Angel being a hero, as he would have chosen pleasures of the flesh over heroism any time since he didn't have that kind of strength, but Angel told him he wouldn't know till tested.**

"Yeah, you wouldn't", Dawn said in agreement, having matured over the course of 3 years about this kind of life.

**Doyle said Angel had done a lot in a day while he couldn't even ask Cordelia out to dinner or tell her he was a half-Demon, deciding the latter should come first, and Angel told him about the Oracles' warning of the end of days, and said they were part of it. Doyle found it unfair that Angel had to help the helpless and fight the apocalypse but Angel said it was the same as he was fighting the good fight, and Doyle said he'd keep score.**

"It's unfair, but who would do it if not us?" Buffy said.

"Not many can", Giles said in agreement.

**Doyle later told Cordelia about the situation as they sat on the steps and she said Angel should have told them as they shouldn't keep secrets from each other, while joking Angel didn't check the stock quotes or lotto numbers.**

"So now she knows too", Buffy said. "Three people in the know about it. Feels weird that I didn't know."

"Would you have been able to handle it back then?" Tara asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No."

**Doyle agreed, saying his marriage would have had a better chance if he and Harry had talked more, and he mentioned she was staying in LA now, though both needed to get on with their lives, and he told her if he wanted a relationship to last, he needed to put a few cards on the table. Cordelia wondered what it was, and Doyle started telling her about his half Demon nature, only to press a hand to his head on getting a vision.**

"What a timing!" Xander said sarcastically.

"So, poor Doyle", Dawn said again.

**A girl walked by as Cordelia made an excuse that they were playing a game and when she was gone, blurred images of people huddled together in a brick building were shown, and then Cordelia asked Doyle if the people could afford to pay.**

Everyone chuckled while Tara said. "Well, considering they're broke, can't blame her for that line of thought."

**A little demon girl was running down a street at night. There was a sound of heavy boots. The girl dropped the box she was carrying, and quickly gathered the stuff back up, clearly afraid. As she turned to continue her flight a hand covered her mouth. A demon boy pulled her down some steps and they huddled watching as a bunch of army boots jogged by.**

"So, someone is after Demon people", Tara noted.

"They had army boots, Initiative maybe?" Xander asked.

"But the Initiative didn't really do anything outside of Sunnydale", Buffy said. "And I doubt they would risk that much exposure by going to LA."

"So who would these be?" Willow wondered.

"I believe we will see very soon", Giles said.

**Angel and Doyle searched the brick building from Doyle's vision, which was deserted and run down with holes in the wall as Doyle commented it was low rent even by Demon standards, and Angel pointed out this was a good hiding place. They entered a room with a meal on a table, which Doyle realized was warm by tasting it, and Angel smelt fear, throwing aside a carpet to reveal a trapdoor.**

"That's where they are hidden", Dawn said in realization.

**They opened the trapdoor and shone their flashlights to reveal a huddled mass of Demons of all ages, Angel assuring they had come to help.**

"They look afraid", Xander said, surprised, since in his mind, most of the time, Demons were either evil creatures or just self-serving ones with no regard for others (Anya being the exception, though even she had been human first). But these, they seemed like normal people with families and all that.

Maybe Demons weren't so different from humans after all.

**They all sat in the living room together as a Demon man said they'd given their money to a man who had promised passports and safe passage but he had disappeared with the money, fooling them.**

"The bastard", Xander snarled about the man.

"Those poor people", Tara muttered about the Demons.

**The Demon said they'd been going to Briole, an island off the coast of Equador and others of their kind had found sanctuary there. Angel asked who they were running from when the Demon kids arrived, the boy informing they had lost half of their supplies. The Elder Demon called the boy RIeff and introduced Angel as the promised one, confusing him.**

"Promised one?" Giles wondered.

"Everyone has different prophecies of stuff", Willow said.

**The Elder told Angel one consistent prophecy of theirs was that in the final days of the century the promised one would come to save them from the Scourge, though Angel didn't even know what they were, making Rieff pass cynical comments about how they were all going to be killed, and walked out, the Elder apologizing to Angel.**

"What is the Scourge?" Dawn asked.

"I have heard the name", Giles said grimly. "An army of pureblood Demons who hunt and kill half-blood Demons like animals."

"God!" Buffy said, horrified at the thought.

"Think Demon Nazis", Giles gave an analogy, and that made everyone even more horrified.

"Regular ones were bad enough", Tara said.

**Doyle later stared outside a window as Angel talked to him about all of this, and Doyle revealed he knew the Scourge, calling them 'Death.'**

"So he's met them before", Willow noted. "I have a feeling it wasn't pleasant."

**In a flashback, a younger Doyle walked into his apartment, finding someone else there who also had a spiky Demon face, introducing himself as Lucas, also a Brachen Demon like Doyle. His clan was from Oregon and they'd been living in the woods till they had come, and not all had escaped. Doyle wasn't interested, saying he had his own problems, but Lucas was adamant they were coming, and finally named them as the Scourge.**

"So they went after Doyle's species too", Xander said. "And now he is haunted by it."

**There was a blend of Doyle telling Angel about the Scourge in the present while Lucas told him about the Scourge in the flashback- they were an army of pureblood Demons who hated the mixed type and hunted them like animals.**

"What Giles said", Dawn commented.

**Doyle told Angel the Scourge were ready to die for their cause, they were impossible to fight fanatics. In the past, Lucas asked Doyle to just help them hide, but Doyle didn't want to, saying this was off his line of work, and he would be taking a risk by helping them, plus while he was half-Demon he had been raised human and wasn't looking to explore his roots. Lucas implored him to help, saying they shared a common enemy, but Doyle didn't budge, and Lucas left dejected.**

"He just…..refused", Giles said in shock.

**Doyle then told Angel in the present that he'd punked out due to just having found out about his Demon side recently, and didn't want anything to do with it.**

"When he puts it that way, it is understandable, if not justifiable", Buffy said to Giles. "Plus, you said they were Demon Nazis, with a total dedication to the cause. So Doyle wouldn't want to risk himself."

"It wasn't ethical, but still understandable", Tara agreed.

Giles just gave a nod.

**Angel inquired what had happened, and in the past Doyle tossed around in his bed before smoking a cigarette later, and then there was a knock on the door and he got up to open it, only to have a vision of Lucas and his clan getting killed while Lucas' words of a common enemy were heard.**

"Oh no!" Willow said, realizing what that meant, the mood plummeting steadily.

**Doyle said that was his first vision and he thought it was a stroke, but still decided to check to see if it was a dream or not. In the past, Doyle walked into the building and found the corpses of Lucas and his clan.**

"God!" Xander said, everyone looking at the massacre in horror, the background music making it even worse to bear.

**Doyle guiltily told Angel it wasn't a dream while Angel assured he couldn't have known, and Doyle said they were gonna need more than a mythic promised one, since they couldn't fight the Scourge, but Angel said they were going to get the Demons out first.**

"I hope they do get them all out", Dawn said, everyone hoping that did happen.

But then they remembered their future selves had said this one would be brutal too, and they dreaded what was going to happen. Would this clan of Demons be slaughtered too?

**A truck pulled up outside the building as Cordelia walked in the hallway, calling out for Angel when some Demons stepped into the hallway and she pulled out a spray, saying it was Demon repellent and sprayed it, but it was just Wintergreen, and then Doyle pushed through, telling her they'd help them, making her put the spray away as she smiled at the Demons and greeted them before inquiring about Angel.**

Everyone chuckled as Willow said. "Trust her to bring levity to such a situation."

"Yeah, she seems funny like that", Tara agreed.

**Doyle inquired about the truck, which she'd got, before pointing out the people were Demons, but Doyle said they were half Demons who needed help, and weren't bad. Cordelia asked the Demons to excuse them and pulled Doyle to a corner, saying they were supposed to fight the forces of Darkness, but Doyle said they weren't, and were in trouble. Angel wanted her to a pier on a LA harbor to talk to a captain Angel knew.**

"Not all Demons are forces of darkness, some are just trying to live in the world like others", Buffy said.

"Yeah, but some people associate 'Demon' and 'Evil', unfortunately", Tara said.

"That's got to change in everyone", Willow agreed, though Giles was silent.

**Cordelia realized they were booking the Demons a cruise, Doyle saying the guy owed Angel money, Cordelia surprised they hadn't collected it, and then realized they were sending the Demons on a cruise and paying for it too, but Doyle pointed out hey were oppressed Demon people and she agreed to help, knowing very bad things were coming, and went off to do as asked.**

"Well, now all of them have their priorities straight", Xander said.

"Just hope that is enough", Dawn told him.

**At his office, the harbormaster told Angel he could get in trouble for this, but Angel said it'd be worse if he didn't do it, and he wouldn't pay either, telling him what he was, and said he hadn't bitten Big Randy the harbormaster's brother as he hadn't been hungry, and told him to certify the ship was carrying an inspected cargo of medical waste and no one was to stop and look at it, and if it happened, Angel would hold him responsible and get a little peckish, making finish the documents and hand them to Angel, wishing him a nice trip.**

"So now that's done too", Willow said. "Hopefully, they can have a safe trip."

"But nothing is ever easy", Buffy groaned.

**At the Demons building, it was revealed Reiff had taken off, a girl saying he had said they'd all be killed, but Doyle said no one was going to die, giving a Demon his cell phone, saying Cordelia would call, and when she did they were going to clear out and go to the ship, and he offered to find the boy, asking the girl where he had gone.**

"Find him quickly", Tara said.

**Rieff was walking on the street when Doyle stopped him, and he made it clear he didn't want to come, saying that the only day he had ever gone out was Halloween, which Doyle realized.**

"Poor kid", Xander said sadly.

**Reiff said his choice was to be hated by humans who were scared of him or by purebloods who wanted to kill him, so he didn't have a choice, but Doyle told him the little girl would miss him as he walked off. Rieff said they were coming, but Doyle said it'd be different now, RIeff still not believing in the promised one, before realizing Doyle agreed with him. Doyle then told him he didn't know about any of this, but Angel was the genuine article.**

"That he is", Buffy said in agreement, all of them hoping Doyle got through to Reiff.

**Rieff was still cynical and said this was a lie, but Doyle said Angel was a hero, and his people had put their faith in something, while RIeff's option of losing himself hoping it went away would never work, and asked they find his family.**

"Yeah, that can never work", Buffy agreed with Doyle.

"Now they will find his family", Willow said.

**At the ship, Cordelia talked with the Captain and first mate about the people they would have, which would number 20, and the captain assured they'd take them all, and Cordelia agreed, pulling out her phone.**

"So that's done too", Tara sighed in relief, though the future group's warning still hung over their heads.

**Doyle and Rieff were walking, getting slightly confused between directions for a bit when marching footsteps were heard, and they ran down the street, soldiers behind as they ran to a building and watched from a window, looking at the Scourge searching the neighborhood. They smashed windows, kicked trashcans and set a car on fire, with one coming to the building.**

"Oh crap!" Willow said.

"So these are the Scourge", Buffy noted grimly.

"They even have uniforms like Nazis", Dawn noted.

"Guess my description was even more accurate than I thought", Giles sighed.

"I am hoping they all make it out", Xander said simply.

"We all are", Tara told him.

**Doyle told Rieff to stay and morphing into Demon face, ran out the door, knocking the solider away as he led the others on a chase, when a hand grabbed and pulled him into another building. It was Angel. Doyle told him they were coming and Angel had a plan.**

All sighed in relief as Dawn muttered. "Please be safe, all of you."

**The Scourge walked into the Demons' hideout, looking around as the Commander kicked the carpet aside and a soldier opened the trap door but it was empty. The Commander told to keep looking when Angel arrived in Vamp face, holding Doyle and telling the soldiers he was his kill.**

"Uh-oh!" Tara said.

"What's he doing?" Willow wondered.

"I think he has a plan", Buffy said.

"Looks very risky", Xander said.

"But it's the only one", Giles pointed out.

**The Commander said Vampires didn't feed on Demon blood, and Angel said this one reeked of humanity. The Commander said Vampires were the lowest of half-breeds, and Angel said his humanity polluted him.**

"He really is one great actor", Dawn said, impressed and uncomfortable simultaneously.

"Yeah, that he is", Buffy agreed.

**Doyle begged him to spare him but Angel snapped his neck to shut him up.**

All flinched as Giles said. "The Brachen Demons can heal from that."

All sighed in relief.

"Can't believe I thought he actually did it", Xander said sarcastically, remembering Angel's plan to feed on his blood alongside Spike.

**A soldier called Angel charming as he was a half-breed murdering other half-breeds, and Angel said he wanted to join them, amusing the Commander. Angel said. "I need to be cleansed and only you can show me the way." He stepped closer. "You can kill me if you want you'd only be freeing me. But I can kill half-breeds for you and believe me I can do it faster and better than anyone you got. I know their minds, where they hide, how they think. I can help you."**

All were impressed by his acting, though the Nazi vibes from the Scourge sent chills up their spines, and Angel was playing it way too close.

**The Commander accepted as some soldiers grabbed Angel and hustled him out of the room while he laughed. Rieff later saw the Scourge exiting the building with Angel in their middle, and then he found Doyle's body, kneeling beside him before jumping back when Doyle blinked, wrenching his neck back into place with a groan.**

All flinched at that too, imagining feeling it.

"Handy healing though", Dawn said.

"Just like Wolverine", Xander commented.

**Doyle said he hated the plan, with RIeff asking if all Brachen Demons could do it, and Doyle said he was stronger in Demon form but preferred to pass off as human, and hoped all were where they were supposed to be.**

"They are", Buffy said.

**The Demons boarded the freighter as the Captain told Cordelia they had a schedule, and Cordelia told him to wait for a few more minutes, so he said to cut off 60% from his debt, making Cordelia comment on his hard bargains as he walked off.**

"Yeah, he does, but can't blame him either", Tara said.

**A Demon walked to Cordelia, saying he couldn't thank them enough, and she assured Doyle would bring Rieff back, making the Demon comment Doyle understood their suffering. Cordelia said she did too, and the Demon apologized, agreeing she understood, but it was more familiar to Doyle as he had to live with a certain amount of persecution due to being half-Demon, surprising Cordelia.**

"The beans are spilled", Dawn said.

"Finally!" Willow sighed.

"Now her reaction is what we need to see", Buffy said.

"Hope it's not too bad", Tara said.

**Angel was in a Scourge meeting, his hair slicked down to the side as the Commander gave a speech about how the vermin diluted their blood with the weakness of humanity, the soldiers agreeing, and he said they would erase them all from the planet.**

"Hitler would be so proud", Dawn commented, everyone horrified by this group.

**The Commander said now they would find and destroy a group of half-Demons that had eluded them thanks to a good man, and the First Mate of the ship was brought forth, as the Commander said he would witness the power of the beacon.**

"That bastard", Xander snarled, everyone paling.

"Now they know", Buffy realized as the atmosphere plummeted.

**Two soldiers opened a door behind the Commander and rolled out what looks like a giant, crystal-shaped light suspended in a metal frame. They flicked some switches on top of it and it began to cycle up. A soldier told Angel the Commander made it all clear and he agreed, as the Commander said the Listers and others with human blood would be killed by this beacon when it reached critical mass and detonated a quarter mile in all directions.**

"They have a device to kill all of them, God!" Tara said, everyone horrified, as she and Willow held each other's hands, while she grasped an arm around a clearly horror-stricken Dawn as well.

**The Commander decided to test it on the First Mate, the light reaching the guy as he went up in a scream to the Scourge's satisfaction, and he told the soldiers to deliver this.**

"Well, he got what he deserved", Xander said, no one disagreeing.

**The soldiers ran into the hallway as Angel stepped out of their midst and into a side room, kicking down a Demon and stealing its motorcycle.**

"Reach quickly!" Buffy begged.

**Doyle and Reiff finally arrived as Reiff was led away by a Demon after a gentle scolding, and Rieff thanked Doyle too. Cordelia was happy Doyle was alive, having been worried, and then slapped him for not telling her has half-Demon, reminding him their agreement of secrets being bad. Doyle said he was afraid she'd reject him if he did. Cordelia said. "I've rejected you way before now! So, you're half demon. Big Whoop! I can't believe you'd think I'd care about that. I mean, I work for a Vampire! Hello?" Doyle was slightly unconvinced as she said. "What do you think I am, superficial? - So you're half Demon. That's so far down the list, way under 'short' and 'poor'! - Is there anything else I should know?"**

"She…..doesn't care at all!" Xander said, all surprised by her maturity and non-bigotry towards Demons.

"Never thought she could be like that", Buffy said.

"People can always surprise you", Willow reminded.

"Well, she doesn't care, that's good for Doyle", Tara smiled.

"So, not poor Doyle anymore", Dawn said happily.

**Doyle said the half Demon thing was it, and Cordelia asked him to ask her out to dinner, Doyle starting the process, and that was when Angel arrived on the motorcycle.**

All groaned as Xander said. "Now that is some really bad timing."

"But they are in danger, so it's for the best", Buffy reminded and he nodded.

**Angel told them about the problem and told the Captain he won't find his First Mate, saying they needed to when Doyle noticed the Scourge had come. The Scourge pulled up on the pier in trucks and on motorcycles. Angel told them all to get below and lock the doors as Doyle yelled through the hold to lock the doors. Angel met the soldiers running up the gangplank as the freighter pulled away. The Commander was angry at him for lying as Angel called him football head, and the Commander ordered the soldiers to kill him painfully.**

"Hope you die painfully too", Dawn snarled at him.

**The soldiers attacked Angel as he threw one down while 2 grabbed him but he kicked the one in the front down again. He then knocked one away and fought another before flipping to avoid the 4** **th** **one's strike, disarming the one he was fighting and taking him down, and beat down the other one too.**

"And they are down", Xander said.

"But the Commander remains", Buffy pointed out.

**Angel and the Commander fought, evenly matched as they burst in through the doors, rolling down some stairs in the cargo hold. The two then fell over the railing and Angel got up to see the beacon being lowered via a chain, and yelled at everyone to get out.**

"Oh crap!" Willow said, everyone paling as they felt their hearts beat faster.

**The Lister Demons scrambled as the Commander grabbed Angel, trying to choke him. "Welcome to a cleaner world. Soon only the pure bloods will be left standing." "Actually, pure boy", Angel broke his grip. "You'll be on your ass." Angel broke his neck and dropped him.**

"Exactly what you deserved", Buffy said, everyone satisfied by the scene.

**Doyle tried to open a door but it was locked from the outside, so he and Cordelia climbed up to where Angel was, looking at the beacon as Angel told them what it did, but Angel said he could shut it off by pulling the cable, though Doyle pointed out the light would touch him and Cordelia said it was suicide. Doyle said there had to be another way. Angel looked at the Demons then Cordelia, assuring everything would be all right, though Cordelia was in denial, and Angel put a hand on Doyle's shoulder who put his hand on his arm and said. "The good fight, yeah? - You never know until you've been tested. - I get that now."**

No one had time to formulate a reaction as they realized what Doyle was up to. Their hearts were caught in their chests.

**Doyle hauled back and hit Angel with a hard right to the chin, knocking him down into the cargo hold.**

"He's…..going to…" Dawn trailed off, everyone feeling their heartbeats rise, knowing what was coming.

**Doyle turned to Cordelia and they kissed. There was a strange blue light between their lips just before they parted. Doyle stepped back. "Too bad we'll never know", he morphed into his Demon face. "If this is a face you could learn to love."**

"She can love it! Don't do this!" Xander snapped.

**Angel picked himself up of the floor of the cargo hold, running over to the ladder and climbed back up. "Doyle. Doyle. Doyle! Doyle! NO!" Doyle jumped over to the beacon just before Angel reached the platform. He grabbed a hold of its metal frame, turned his head and smiled at Angel and Cordelia. "No!" Angel yelled.**

"No!" Everyone in the room yelled at the same time, even Giles.

**Doyle morphed back to human and tried to pull the cable connection apart as the light got brighter and started to melt the skin off his face. Everybody watched spellbound as Doyle managed to pull the cable apart just before he burnt up with a scream of pain. The beacon went dark. All the Lister demons stared at the fading beacon in shock. Cordelia started crying and Angel pulled her into a hug, teary-eyed himself.**

Dawn burst into tears at that moment as Tara hugged the girl, in tears herself, while Willow and Xander held each other, the former sobbing and the latter having tears trailing down. Buffy's mouth was covered, tears falling down her eyes too as she struggled not to give out a cry, while Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his face, feeling pretty horrible himself.

Even in just 9 recordings, all had come to like Doyle a lot, and felt connected to him. They did know he was going to die, but they had no idea it had happened this soon.

**Later, Angel and Cordelia watched the commercial Doyle had shot earlier. "If you need help. Then look no further. Angel Investigations is the best! Our rats are low." "Rates!" Cordelia's voice said. Doyle pointed to the papers taped on the windows behind her. "It says 'rats'." He continued anyway. "Our rates are low, but our standards are high. When the chips are down, and you're at the end of your rope you need someone that you can count on. And that's what you'll find here - someone that will go all the way, no matter what. So don't lose hope. Come on over to our offices and you'll see that there's still heroes in this world." He cleared his throat. "Is that it? Am I done?" The screen went black.**

Buffy was struggling to control herself now, while Dawn's sobbing only increased, and so did Willow's while, Xander and Tara tried their best to comfort the two as well as themselves. Giles wasn't in the best state either.

They had never known him, but losing him now felt like a total gut punch. They weren't even sure if they were okay to watch the next recording right now.

Doyle had died a hero, and it was unfair!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is done finally, hope I handled the reactions well, there will be more in the next chapter, which is 'Parting Gifts'. There, the viewers can mourn Doyle alongside Angel and Cordelia.
> 
> RIP Allen Francis Doyle, you were a hero, and RIP Glenn Quinn, you were gone too soon.
> 
> The Scourge really gave those Nazi vibes, didn't they? Yikes!
> 
> Hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	13. Parting Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch Angel and Cordelia mourn for Doyle as a familiar face shows up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

The Scoobies had stopped crying by now, but they still didn't look very good. None of them had made a move to touch the remote and play the next recording. They just didn't feel like it.

But one of them then remembered just how important it was.

"Anyone going to pick that up?" Xander asked in a husky voice as he gestured to the remote.

"Anyone even feel like it?" Tara asked.

"I don't think anyone does after the previous one", Dawn shook her head as both Buffy and Tara stroked her hair.

"Yeah, but whether we feel like it or not, we…..we have to watch it", Willow said.

"Yes, Willow is right, Buffy", Giles agreed too.

Buffy sighed and said. "Maybe they also mourn him in the next one."

"So we can do it alongside them", Tara suggested.

"Yeah", Buffy muttered, finally starting the next one.

**In the Oracle room, the man was angry at Angel was trying their patience as Angel begged them to fold time and bring Doyle back, but the woman said this would nullify his noble end and leave his atonement unfulfilled.**

No one made a comment. While all of them wished Doyle could come back, it wouldn't make the situation better. Even if time was being folded, there was a price for this kind of stuff. If Doyle survived, then Angel could die instead, or the entire Listers Demons.

So as harsh as it sounded, Doyle had to remain….gone! It was unfair, but it was the truth.

**The man said Doyle doesn't live so that Angel may, and the woman said Angel lives so that others may. "He's my friend", Angel begged. "If that is so, then so shall it ever be", the woman said. "But it is of no consequence", the man added. "The war rages on", the woman told him. "Do not come to us again on so self-serving a matter", the man warned.**

"They find that self-serving?" Dawn asked incredulously.

"As much as I hate to say it, it is", Buffy said. "I wish Doyle comes back, I do, but it can't be done. Angel wants him back, but he isn't thinking of the unintended consequences this time. The last time, he had time folded for a selfless reason, not this time."

Dawn sighed, conceding her point.

" **There is one consequence, even by your generous standards: Doyle was my sole contact to the Powers That Be. Without his visions – I'm fighting blind", Angel pointed out.**

"He has a point", Willow said.

" **All will soon be made clear. For every door that closes, another opens", the woman said. The man said. "And for everyone that opens…" He lifted his arm and they disappear in a flash of light.**

"Such jerks", Xander muttered.

"They are higher powers", Tara said, and that explained everything.

**A demon with two horn buds on each temple was running down an alley. A guy on a motorcycle, clad all in black leather was pursuing him.**

"Now who would that be?" Giles wondered.

"If it was red leather he was wearing, I would be 100% sure it's Dante!" Xander joked as all chuckled for the first time since Doyle's death, other than Giles.

"The one who wrote the Divine Comedy?" Giles asked in confusion.

"You need to go out more", Buffy said to him.

**At Angel's office, Cordelia was examining the coffee mugs, saying she was looking for Doyle's special coffee mug. Angel pointed out he didn't have one, and she said he should have had it, as it would be tangible evidence of him having been around, but there was nothing. Angel then told her to get out before clarifying he meant take the day off and live her life, while he could manage.**

"He could have worded it better the first time", Xander commented.

"I don't think any of them are going to behave rationally while mourning", Buffy told him.

"He can't really manage by himself either in this state", Willow said.

**Cordelia told Angel he was trying to push her away and shut himself off, and then told him all they had now was each other, saying sharing grief was the normal, healthy way to deal with loss, and she wouldn't go anywhere.**

"That was…..touching", Tara said.

"Yeah, and she's right about sharing grief", Buffy said.

"By watching this one, we are kind of sharing our grief with them", Dawn pointed out.

**Then the alarm on her watch went off and she realized she needed to go for a commercial audition, saying she'd blown it off if it hadn't been national.**

"And now it's ruined", Xander muttered.

"I think she's just working like that to distract herself from the grief", Buffy said, relating to that obviously.

**Angel started asking her to stay but she wasn't going to, though she told him to stay put till she returned, and then she opened the door just as the Demon from earlier was about to knock, making her scream.**

"Oof!" Giles muttered.

"Her and Demons never get old", Willow said.

**The Demon commented Cordelia had scared him, prompting her to incredulously tell him to look in the mirror and he said he did every chance he got.**

"Add that to the list of Demons she scares", Xander said, making everyone chuckle.

**He then walked to Angel, already knowing he was the Vampire with a soul, asking him to help as he helped the 'helpless'. Cordelia asked if Angel wanted to stay but he was fine, and the Demon told her to 'break a leg', asking her to picture everyone, and she finished, saying she'd picture all in their underwear, but the Demon meant 'dead', making her leave.**

"I am pretty sure it was naked", Xander said and all shot him looks. "Which doesn't matter. Different people, different tricks."

**Angel and the Demon walked into his office as he introduced himself as Barney, asking why Angel wasn't in his coffin, and Angel commented how he hated that stereotype, shocked that a Demon like Barney didn't know anything about Vamps, who said he'd only seen about them on TV, and Angel explained the actual scenario.**

"Coffins, didn't think we'd hear about that after all these years against Vamps", Buffy quipped.

"That too by a Demon of all things", Willow said.

"Some people are just ill-informed", Giles said, rolling his eyes.

**At the audition, Cordelia was about to start, it being over a commercial of removing stains, and while talking about stain-be-gone, she started sobbing, the people at the able being surprised, and saying it was good, but said they wanted it to be happy and uplifting due to the stains being gone, as no one liked them.**

"They really thought she was acting?" Xander wondered.

"Some people are tone deaf like that", Tara told him.

"Plus, it's a commercial audition, anything can be mistaken for acting", Dawn pointed out.

**Cordelia tried again, doing decently until she was hit with a vision like Doyle, though she tried to continue in spite of it, eventually yelling and stamping her foot, and there was stunned silence for a moment before the people at the table lamely passed comments.**

"She just had a vision!" Buffy said, everyone surprised other than Willow.

"None of you really kept in touch with her, did you?" Willow asked, and they realized they really didn't, though no one missed the irony of Willow and Cordelia of all people being phone friends.

"So, Doyle passed is visions into her?" Xander asked.

"Looks like it", Tara said.

"I just remembered, when they were kissing in the previous one, a white light passed from his mouth to hers", Giles said, and now everyone remembered.

"Guess the intensity of the moment made us miss it at the time", Dawn pointed out.

"So now she has the visions. This is what those Oracles meant", Buffy said, all watching with interest. "This will be interesting."

**The motorcycle guy rode down a street in Korea town as Angel inquired to Barney about his hunter, and he said the guy was an unstoppable machine who had been after him in quite a few States since Phoenix, saying he must be an assassin. The guy in leather got off his motorcycle.**

"He looks cool", Dawn commented.

"And dangerous too", Tara added.

**Angel asked if he was a Demon and Barney said he could be as he knew a lot of stuff, while the motorcycle guy looked through a black bag holding swords, stakes and other weapons. He took out a crossbow. Angel asked Barney what he could do, and after some questioning Barney said he was an empath Demon so he could read emotions, using them to have an advantage at cards, saying he just used his strengths that way rather than calling it cheating, while also saying he wasn't 'Evil' evil.**

"What every cheat says", Xander said about Barney's 'strengths' comment.

"Yeah, but still, doesn't really seem like a guy who deserves to die", Dawn told him.

"The bike guy is after him, so whatever it is, it might be serious", Buffy said.

**The motorcycle guy examined yellow slime at the corner of a building as Barney told Angel that he couldn't please everyone before asking for help, and a little later Cordelia inched through the door into the office, Angel greeting her as she walked to him with a strange look on her face. Cordelia then put an arm around his neck and kissed him, to his confusion, before he pushed back, saying she was acting out of grief and thinking of their friendship as something more.**

"Did she just try to pass on her visions?" Dawn asked.

"Looks like it", Buffy said.

"Considering how painful they look, it is kind of understandable why she is trying to get rid of them", Xander said.

"Yeah, who would want to split their head all the time?" Willow asked, remembering the times Cordelia had ranted to her on the phone about the painful visions.

"Painful way to live", Tara agreed.

**Cordelia realized nothing had happened, and finally revealed Doyle had used their kiss to pass them onto her, Angel wiping his lips and looking at his fingers as she ranted it could have been mono or herpes.**

"I do not think anyone wants that either", Giles muttered.

**Cordelia ranted about not wanting the responsibility and said the PTB better stay out of her head, and then Angel realized she had got a vision as she told him they were even more painful than they looked. Angel remembered the Oracles' words, realizing Cordelia was his link to the PTB now, though she didn't want it, saying she had lost control of her nervous system during her first audition in weeks and drooled a little.**

"They really couldn't tell she was in pain?" Xander asked incredulously.

"Like I said, some people are tone deaf", Tara told him.

**Angel then asked about the vision and she said she had seen an ugly, gray, blobby thing, Angel pointing out it could be dangerous since she had a vision of it, but Cordelia only wanted the visions out and would smooch every frog in the kingdom to make sure.**

"Some frogs are about to get lucky", Willow quipped as all chuckled.

**Then Barney came out of a door, buttoning his sleeves, and Angel started introducing Cordelia when she kissed Barney too, before saying not every frog as Barney commented he liked the way they treated their clients.**

"There's your first one", Xander said and all chuckled again.

"Though I do not think the visions are going to pass on just like that", Giles commented. "There must be some emotional connection behind it too I believe."

"Yeah, I think that's why Doyle's kiss did it", Buffy agreed.

**Cordelia asked Barney to excuse them, and he walked to the outer office as Cordelia kept spitting while asking Angel if he was a client, and he handed her a paper and pen to try to sketch the thing she had seen, and also asked her to babysit Barney till her returned. She asked where he was going and Angel said to check out his apartment as the thing chasing him might be there, and also asked her to behave herself as he didn't want to find them necking on the couch when he came back.**

"With how much she was spitting, I don't think that's gonna happen", Xander said.

"Someone's jealous", Willow said and all chuckled again.

"Yeah, he might be", Tara agreed with a smirk.

**Near a brick building at night, a motorcycle was parked by the street as Angel stepped out of an elevator into the hallway with one of the lights on the fritz. The boots of the motorcycle guy walked up the stairs. Angel walked up a door while the silhouette of the motorcycle guy with his crossbow was illuminated by a blinking light next to elevator.**

"Same place, same time", Buffy muttered.

"Let's see who beats up who", Dawn said.

**Angel touched the door frame and examined his fingers, then spun around as the door opposite opened. It was a maid pulling a cleaning cart. She smiled at Angel and he smiles back, then opened the apartment door, only to get pushed into it from behind. He turned around to find a crossbow aimed at him by a dark figure. The guy in black leather stepped forward and it was none other than Wesley Wyndam-Pryce! "Hello Angel", he greeted.**

"Wesley?" Buffy, Xander, Dawn and Giles went together.

"Huh?!" Xander then said.

"Motorcycle guy got much less cooler now", Buffy commented.

"Can't believe I was finding him threatening earlier", Giles muttered.

"Well, with how he was being presented, it would look that way", Dawn said.

"So, he's that incompetent Watcher you guys mentioned?" Tara asked and they nodded.

"Yeah, but last time I saw him, he looked like, you know, a badass, broody, sexy guy", Willow said and all shot her looks. "Hey, I have no other idea how to describe him!"

"Seriously? He looks like that?" Xander asked, not being able to believe that.

"Yeah, that's how he looked last I saw him, and he was pretty competent too, since he and Faith went out into dangerous zones together", Willow told him.

"Well, he would have improved for sure", Buffy said. "I mean, it's been years since we saw him."

"Now I wish I tried to improve myself earlier instead of relying on a bunch of army memories", Xander muttered. [1]

**Angel put his hands in his pocket. "Wesley." "I wager you thought, you'd never see me again", Wesley said. Angel started. "To tell you the truth I hadn't given it much thought one way or the other. What are you…" Wesley pointed the crossbow at Angel's face. "Hup-up-up! I'm the one asking the questions here. I think it only fair to warn you, any sudden movement and I'd be forced to…" Angel casually batted the crossbow out of his hand. "Right. You had a question?"**

Everyone laughed as Dawn said. "So, that is an epic fail."

"Yeah, while he did improve, he was really clumsy back in the day", Willow agreed with the rest about him. "I had almost forgotten that."

"Guess that would make his growth into this badass you describe even more interesting", Tara told her.

**Angel suppressed a smile, noting Wesley's look and asked if the Watchers' Council was trying out a new image.**

"If only", Giles muttered and was shot looks. "All right, I admit it! People in trench coat on bikes have a certain…..air around them."

"See! I knew you liked that kind of stuff", Buffy said and all chuckled as he held his head in his hands.

**Wesley walked further inside, saying he didn't work for the Council and would work better autonomously while stumbling on the edge of the bed, though Angel realized he had been fired, but Wesley said they hadn't, he just didn't need to function as Watcher as Buffy was unwilling to follow the Council. So he had become a rogue Demon Hunter.**

"Oh really?" Xander muttered. "Well, he does dress up like it."

"But the act leaves a lot to be desired", Dawn agreed with him.

**Angel was incredulous as Wesley said he was on the trail of a particularly nasty bugger, advising Angel to stay out of the way, but Angel said he was making a mistake and if they were talking about the same one, the Demon was harmless. Wesley said he had left behind a trail of mutilated corpses, human and Demon both, saying all the victims had possessed unique powers like telepathy, poison tongues, healing hands, etc., and the physical sources of the powers had been ripped from them, Angel realizing he was collecting powers.**

"So Wesley is actually after someone who is after Barney", Tara said in realization.

"So, it was just an honest mess, everything will be fine", Willow said.

"Once they get this killer", Buffy reminded.

**Wesley said the Demon had cut a swath across half the continent and he'd almost caught up with it in Phoenix, saying it had a fair look. Angel started describing Barney but Wesley said it was enormous and powerful, being yellow-green, and it was also secreting some sort of viscous, yellow fluid. Angel saw a yellow blob on Wesley's jacket and asked if it was like that.**

"Uh-oh!" Buffy said as all tensed.

**Another blob landed beside it and they both looked up. The Demon that had been clinging to the ceiling dropped down to land on his face between them.**

"There it is", Giles said as all watched.

**It shoved Angel back, then hit Wesley and threw him across the room. Angel and the Demon were a bit more evenly matched as Angel deflected some blows and spin kicked him back, but after a short exchange of blows it knocked Angel to the ground as it turned around Wesley hit it in the chest with a crossbow bolt. The Demon screamed and jumped out of the window. Angel and Wesley watched it run away.**

"And now it has escaped", Willow said as they groaned.

"But there are two of them to catch it now", Tara added.

"Unless Wesley is going to turn into badass Wesley overnight, I don't think we should count all of him", Dawn commented.

"Yeah, but he can still be some use", Buffy said.

"He's a former Watcher, he would have knowledge", Giles pointed out.

"Good point", Xander sighed.

**At the apartment, Cordelia was trying to sketch what she'd seen as Barney said drawing could be therapeutic while grieving, revealing his empath abilities to her, though Cordelia said she wanted to keep this private, telling him not to nose around, and he apologized, saying he was trying to make conversation.**

"Bringing up grief ain't the best way to do it", Xander said.

**Cordelia apologized, saying she'd lost someone, and so Barney asked her to tell him about him. Cordelia talked about Doyle. "Doyle? Well, he drank too much and his taste in clothing was like a Greek tragedy. Barney chuckled. "And he could be really sweet sometimes." Cordelia swallowed hard. "You'll like this: he was half Demon. A secret he kept from me for – like- ever. I guess that's the reason he sometimes smelled weird? You know, you remind me a little of him." Barney laughed and said he'd take it as a compliment.**

"Now that's more like it", Xander said.

"Guess he learns quickly", Buffy said.

**Angel and Wesley then came down the stairs, making Barney bolt as he recognized Wesley while Angel ran to stop him, telling Wesley where the books were. Wesley then noticed Cordelia, and started greeting her when she walked to him and kissed him, with him pulling her close as he kissed her back, and then she pulled away as he finished his comment of finding her a nice surprise.**

"True lovers reunited", Willow quipped as all chuckled other than Tara, remembering their attraction to each other.

"Is there a story there?" Tara asked.

"After me and Cordy broke up, Wesley came, and well, they had a thing for a bit, or something like a thing", Xander said.

"They did dance together at the Prom", Giles remembered.

"But they weren't talking to each other much before the final fight", Buffy remembered.

"Maybe something happened in between", Dawn suggested.

**Cordelia shook herself as it hadn't worked while Wesley said it had been better than last time.**

"There was a last time?" Xander said in surprise.

"Maybe that is what happened between prom and the fight!" Buffy said.

"Could be it", Willow agreed.

"So they kissed, it was bad, and they stopped talking", Xander said. "Funny."

**Cordelia started telling Wesley what she was doing before asking him if he was working with Angel, but he said he was a lone wolf and only allowing Angel to assist him, calling himself a rogue Demon hunter as she asked what a rogue Demon meant.**

"I think the rogue is more to describe himself", Giles pointed out.

"Titles can be misleading", Xander said.

**Angel and Barney returned as Wesley went to look at the books, Barney asking if Wesley was after what was after him, and Angel said that was the size of it.**

"Yeah, looks like it", Buffy agreed.

**Angel told Barney it wanted to steal his empathetic abilities, and Wesley walked out with a book, saying it was Kungai Demon, of Asian origin, very deadly, and had a Tak horn capable of consuming an opponent's life force, saying they were lucky to have escaped.**

"So a Kungai is what attacked them", Giles noted, now realizing it. "Yes, now I remember, it was one."

"Now they know what they're up against", Buffy said.

**Barney said he knew Kungais were killers, asking Angel to take it out. Angel tried to take the book from Wesley, who didn't want to let go, and there was a little tug of war with Angel as the victor.**

All chuckled again as Willow said. "Okay, Wesley is trying way too hard right now."

**Wesley said he had tracked the Demon in an Asian district north of here, and Cordelia remembered it as Korea town, so Angel decided to look there, refusing to take Wesley as the man at his side had died.**

All winced as the memory of Doyle burning up with a scream came back to them, but managed to control their emotions in time.

**Angel then walked up, and Wesley began sitting down before changing his mind with a grimace of pain, Cordelia asking what was wrong, and he said these pants tended to chafe the legs, and he walked off weirdly.**

"Still want that look?" Buffy asked Giles naughtily.

"No", he said and all chuckled again as he sighed.

**At the Lotus Spa, Angel and a man called Soon talked in Korean, Angel paying him a little to let him have a look around, and he agreed.**

"Guess knowing a lot of people works wonders", Xander said.

"It does", Willow told him.

**Angel was walking through the spa. There were curtains of cubicles with steam rising from behind them. Angel used his fighting axe to push one of the curtains a little aside and looked behind it. He was almost at the end of the hallway when one of the curtains behind him was suddenly pushed aside. Angel spun around, axe ready as an ugly green, horned demon with a white towel wrapped around his waist stepped out, asking where the Shiatsu massage was, and Angel blinked a couple of times before walking.**

"Well, that was anti-climactic", Dawn said.

**Cordelia had finished her drawing before ripping it off, Barney noting her frustration as Cordelia said his talent was spooky and amazing. Cordelia asked him to explain why she had to suffer such visions now, and Barney inquired about them as Cordelia told him about Doyle, the PTB, and the visions, Barney realizing he had left those to her as an inheritance. Cordelia said she would never forgive him, but Barney reminded she had been chosen by him for a rare and important gift and given a responsibility. "I get the impression that Doyle didn't have much by way of possessions?" Barney inquired. "No. No he didn't", Cordelia said. "Seems like he gave you the most valuable thing he had", Barney pointed out. Cordelia considered.**

"When he puts it like that", Xander said.

"He handed over his important part to her, to remember him by", Buffy realized. "Painfully."

"But having those visions is an important responsibility too", Giles said.

"I am sure she knows it", Willow said. "Or will know."

**Angel walked into a back room, finding the Kungai Demon lying with an old lady wiping its brow, telling Angel he was dying.**

"But that wound Wesley gave him wasn't fatal", Buffy said, everyone surprised.

"There's more to this than we think", Xander realized.

"Yes, something doesn't add up", Giles said grimly.

**At the apartment, Cordelia looked through the fridge, asking Barney what kind of coffee he wanted and he said black would do, and as she made it, Barney walked off and pulled out a cell phone, calling someone and telling him he had the Kungai horn in a safe place, then glanced at Cordelia and said now he had something even more valuable.**

Everyone's jaws dropped, the truth hitting them.

"I liked this guy!" Xander then snapped.

"Yeah me too!" Willow agreed.

"He seemed nice!" Dawn said too.

"Why do the sweet ones turn out like that?" Tara wondered.

"Uhhhhh, not Clem!" Buffy reminded, still trying to get over the shock.

"So he's an exception", Giles said with a sigh. "And it looks like this Barney is the one who was the bad guy all along here."

"Yeah, he just deflected blame onto Wesley and the Kungai", Willow said.

**As Cordelia turned to face Barney, he dropped the façade, showing his true colors, and called her pathetic, saying she knew she was a terrible actress, and he was a fine one as he had fooled her, cutting her off from escape as he said she felt she had let Doyle die, and that if she had been a little nicer or cared for anyone beside herself, it wouldn't have happened. He grabbed her by the arms, saying he would love to rip out her pretty little eyes, and threw her against the table.**

Everyone was unnerved and worse, caught off-guard by the sudden change in Barney's attitude, and this was what he was really like.

"This is what the really smart serial killers and other criminals do. Put on a nice façade to gain your trust, then reveal true colors when you're at your most vulnerable", Buffy said, chiding herself for actually buying that Barney had been a good guy instead of suspecting him a little.

"Looks like it worked, since we were all fooled by him too", Giles said.

"Yeah, what an actor this creep is!" Willow snarled at him angrily.

"So now he is going to take Cordelia, and Angel and Wesley are both away", Tara groaned.

"Life sucks", Xander muttered.

"Tell me about it", Dawn said.

**Angel picked up the crossbow bolt at the spa, smelling it as the Kungai tried to tell him something but he couldn't understand the language, and then Wesley arrived in a white suit instead of the black leather, saying he understood the dialect.**

"Now that looks more like Wesley", Xander said.

"Yeah, that is a familiar look", Buffy agreed.

**Wesley wondered how his wound was fatal, but Angel pointed out his horn had been ripped off, and then Wesley tried to converse with him. At the apartment, Cordelia lay on the table as Barney tied her hands, loving the terror she was feeling.**

"I am looking forward to your terror before Angel snaps you in two", Xander snarled, not surprised he was actually rooting for Angel here, as the recordings made him dislike the guy less than before.

**Wesley tried to translate the Kungai's words, though he didn't know what the Klu-click-ka meant, though they still couldn't get much as the Kungai was about to die and Wesley wasn't fluent.**

"Why is everything so difficult?" Dawn muttered.

**Cordelia suddenly said she was having a vision of him, Barney lifting her up and asking if he was in danger, but she kneed him and said he was in pain, running, but Barney caught her, saying bruises brought down the price, before hitting her as she fell down, adding not by much.**

"If you get bruises, it would bring up the satisfaction of you dying", Willow said to Barney.

"I am sure it will not be pleasant for him", Buffy said, worried for Cordelia.

**Wesley still had struggle translating and the Kungai then died as Wesley said the Kungai's description of his killer was- 'Demon, heart, reader.' Angel realized it meant an empath Demon, which would be Barney.**

"Finally they figured it out", Giles said.

"But it's too late", Tara said grimly.

**Cordelia woke up, bound and gagged in a storage room, seeing a gray sculpture, which was the blob she'd been trying to draw, noticing labelled body parts including a still beating heart under a glass cover. Barney and his friend Hank arrived, Hank wanting to pop out the eyes but Barney said eyes intact would give them an extra thousand, and asked him to catalogue gypsy flesh as Cordelia lay down, horrified.**

"Good god!" Xander said, horrified at this business Barney and Hank seemed to run.

"They sell body parts of people?" Buffy wondered.

"You heard that story where you go to a foreign country, pass out, and wake up to see your kidney in a jar?" Willow asked and all nodded. "This is the supernatural version of it."

"Well, I hope they don't actually take anything out of her", Dawn said, voicing everyone's worry for Cordelia.

"I have heard a little about this, but never seen it, till now", Giles growled.

"And I hope we never have to, or this ends somehow", Tara sighed.

**Angel and Wesley returned to the apartment to find both missing, both blaming themselves as Wesley said he had been tracking the wrong Demon, but Angel told Wesley he could join and help him, though Wesley groaned he was a fool and been fired, as one of his Slayers had gone evil and was now in a coma while the other was a renegade, so firing him was a mercy compared to chopping off his head.**

"They would do that?" Tara asked.

"I think they would", Buffy said.

"You're not wrong", Giles told them as they felt chills run up their spine over how many times they had encountered the Council.

**Angel found Cordelia's drawing from earlier, voicing her description of 'ugly, gray blob' and Wesley who had been badmouthing himself agreed before realizing what it was, and Angel said this was a sculpture by Van Gieson called 'Maiden with Urn', saying this could tell where Barney had taken Cordelia, eventually convincing Wesley to help, saying he could translate Klu-click-na, and Wesley got up, now deciding to help.**

"Finally", Xander said as all felt a little better now.

**Later, they found the sculpture while searching on the computer, seeing it had been sold to the Ramsay Hotel Chain in 1982, and there were 12 between here and Diego, so it had to be one of them, and Wesley translated the word, realizing it was an auction.**

"Auction?!" Willow said, outraged. "They sell body parts at an auction?!"

"That's the lowest you can sink too", Tara agreed. "No matter who you are."

"Such creeps", Dawn muttered in agreement.

"And it is happening out in the open", Xander pointed out something even more disturbing.

"Let's just all agree this is horrible, and must be stopped", Buffy said.

"That we can", Giles agreed.

**At the auction, there were many Demons and humans, including a sleek businesswoman with 'Wolfram and Hart' on her briefcase.**

"So they joined the party too", Giles noted.

"So surprised…..not!" Buffy said.

**Barney managed to sell the horn, joking about stabbing enemies and even one's own wife with it, saying the power to drain life force was an investment in the peace of mind, and Cordelia was lead in, her gag being taken off as Barney said she was a rare find. Cordelia started she wasn't a seer and had one vision of something she had eaten, making Hank cover her mouth.**

"She's making it even worse for herself", Willow muttered.

**Barney hyped Cordelia, saying she had the eyes of a seer and there were many possibilities, the bidding starting and managing to go up to 11,000 already. Angel hung up the phone back at his place, telling Wesley, who was taping a knife to his knee, that Hotel Ramsay in LA had redecorated and the Van Gieson sculpture used to be in the lobby.**

"Now they know where to go", Buffy sighed in relief.

"Betting in an auction on a living person", Tara noted in disgust.

**Cordelia started hyping herself, trying to increase her value to stall, listing out all her eyes could do as a white haired guy and another one both kept raising the values, before the other one beat the white-haired guy, ending it at 20,000, while the lawyer from Wolfram and Hart was instructed to do as she decided.**

"Now Cordelia's getting it", Xander said.

"Yeah, but that can only go on for so long", Giles pointed out.

**The lawyer then said 30,000, sealing the deal.**

"And there it goes", Buffy said as all groaned.

**Later, people were picking up their stuff in the storage room, as the woman said they only wanted the eyes, and Barney managed to bargain for an extra thousand, asking Hank for the extractor though he wanted to do it himself but eventually gave it to him, while a gagged Cordelia whimpered.**

"Oh crap! Damn Wolfram and Hart!" Dawn said.

"Reach quickly!" Willow said.

**Angel and Wesley arrived, an usher pointing them to the convention hall, and there Angel asked an employee about the auction, who feigned ignorance, making Angel vamp out and grab him by the lapels as he told them the location.**

"Now they're here!" Buffy said.

**Hank pushed Cordelia down with the chair as Barney hit and taunted her, the lawyer watching while Angel and Wesley arrived at the auction room, a guy walking from behind a curtain and asking if they had a number, and a second later, in the storage room, the guy came sailing through the door, distracting Barney as Angel and Wesley ran in.**

"Now they're gonna get theirs", Tara said as all got excited.

**Angel battled the security people as Wesley tried to get his knife but fell down due to it being taped, a guy heading for Angel falling over him.**

That drew some chuckles.

**Angel was held back by two guys as he kicked the stake out of the hands of a third, asking Wesley to get Cordelia as he crawled to her and removed her gag, inquiring about her well-being before trying to get his knife and failing.**

"Why did you tape it so tight?" Willow wondered.

"He thinks he is Sean Connery, but he is George Lazenby", Giles said, and no one could disagree. [2]

"You watch movies?" Xander suddenly asked.

"Of course I do!" Giles said, making all chuckle again.

**During that time, Angel smashed one security person through a case and beat another back as the lawyer woman walked off. Wesley saw a claw lying on the floor and used that to cut the ropes as they started running when Barney punched Wesley back. Wesley fought back, deflecting some blows. "You! Butcher and innocent girl, will you?" He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I'm going to thrash you to within an inch of your life", Barney smirked while he added. "AND THEN I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT INCH!"**

All wondered whether to be impressed or amused, as the line was quite cool, but Wesley's delivery made it comedic instead.

**The lawyer walked off some stairs, telling her employers their merchandise had been taken off the market, joking '3 guesses by whom'.**

"This war continues", Buffy commented.

**Angel beat down the security people, elbowing one down as Wesley rammed into Barney, sending him to the floor and ramming his head on it before Barney turned him over, beating him when Cordelia grabbed the Kungai horn and stabbed him in the back. Barney gasped, getting off of Wesley, looking pained, and tried to reach out to Cordelia as he jumped before he fell down, disintegrating into nothingness as only his clothes remained.**

"So, killed by the horn of the Demon he killed to sell by a woman whose eyes he tried to sell", Willow noted.

"Seems fitting", Tara agreed.

"Yeah, and it was painful too", Xander said, satisfied.

**Angel came running up as Cordelia hugged him. "I never doubted for a minute that you'd find me."**

"That looked cute", Tara said about Cordelia hugging Angel in his Vamp face.

"Tell me about it", Willow agreed.

**Angel said he was lucky due to a rogue Demon Hunter by his side, Wesley liking being appreciated as he said he was glad to be of service.**

"Yes, he did help", Buffy agreed.

**Back at the apartment, Cordelia ironed her wrinkled drawing, all agreeing Barney had it coming, and Cordelia also said he had started her bidding at 2000 dollars.**

"She is priceless", Xander said and all nodded.

**Cordelia put the picture in a frame, saying it was for saving her life, and as a reminder of Doyle.**

"Nice way to remember him", Dawn said as all sighed sadly on remembering him, but knew they had to go on. He had died, and watching more of these could be a way to honor his sacrifice by them.

**Wesley decided to go off, saying he would be where evil lurked, while Angel set up the table and poured orange juice for Cordelia who asked Wesley to keep in touch, and he picked up his bag, looking at the two people as he said he was going, Cordelia asking him to take care. He slowly disappeared around the corner to go up the steps. But after a moment strolled back into the room. "No rest for the wicked fighters. Through storm and rain – heat – famine", he looked at Angel putting some scrambled eggs on a plate, "deep, painful, gnawing hunger – I go." Angel looked over at him. "Breakfast?" Wesley quickly put down his bag and took off his jacket. "Ooh –", he eagerly hurried to the table. "I suppose so."**

"You could have just asked directly", Willow said, all shaking their heads in amusement.

"He is too proud for it", Giles said.

**Cordelia told Wesley. "One of the perks of the job. After an all-nighter of fighting the lurking evil – we get eggs." Angel set a plate of eggs down in front of Wesley. "Toast?" "Please!" Cordelia commented. "I'm famished. He's a good cook for someone on a liquid diet." "Astonishing, really", Wesley said. "Mhm-mm." He turned to Angel. "Did you say something about toast?" Angel set a plate of toasted bread on the table, and both Cordy and Wesley grabbed a slice. The screen went black.**

"So there, a new member joins Angel Investigations", Buffy said. "Which they needed."

"Well, this one was much needed after the previous one", Xander said.

"Can't disagree", Tara nodded.

"We are going to watch two more today, right?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, two more would do", Giles agreed.

"Yup", Willow nodded too.

"All right then", Buffy said, moving to the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, Barney really had us all fooled, didn't he? Him turning out to be a sadist was so horrifying.
> 
> [1] Anyone else found it annoying that Xander didn't pick up much in the way of fighting skills up until the final Season? I mean, before that, in Seasons 2 and 3, he had some fighting skills due to his army memories, and could fight, but Season 4 onwards he clearly started losing them, and completely lost them by Season 5, so one would think he would try to pick up some skills during that time as he is part of the Scooby Gang, but he only showed fighting skills in the final Season and then the comics, where his military mind did come into play.
> 
> [2] This is Wesley's description from the script of 'Bad Girls', in which he first disappeared, and it says there that Wesley thinks he's Sean Connery while being George Lazenby actually.
> 
> Speaking of Wesley, nowhere else have I seen a character who starts out as comic relief and then turns into a hot, sexy, rugged, broody badass completely by the later Seasons. Seriously, his brooding can give Angel a run for his money.
> 
> Also, anyone think that lawyer woman was a prototype version of Lilah? Like they planned to do something with her before shafting it. Whatever it was, I'm glad they didn't do it, since this show won't be the same without Lilah.
> 
> Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with….HAWKEYE! HELL YES! Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	14. Somnambulist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch as a Vampire from Angel's past as Angelus returns in his unlife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
> 
> And by now everyone would definitely have heard of the accusations against Joss Whedon, which are definitely true. So the Charisma Carpenter thing has sort of been an open secret for years, as there were several rumors flying around her exit from the show, and her recent post where she accused Joss of toxic behavior and harassment confirms that the rumors were true. He was pissed off she got pregnant, so he treated her and her character like trash (like was he seriously asking her if she was gonna keep the baby? What kind of sick fuck does that?) And Amber Benson, Michelle Trachtenberg, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Clare Kramer, Emma Caulfield, Eliza Dushku, James Marsters and J. August Richards have all come out in support of Charisma too, while Anthony Stewart Head says he's gutted to learn of this and feels guilty since he never knew about this.
> 
> Even before this though, the image of Joss as 'the feminist God' has started crumbling for quite a few years now, and this is counting out him cheating on his wife (which adds to the list of scumbag things he has done). His treatment of Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow was the first sign obviously, and while I think the line of Natasha thinking herself a monster gets unfairly criticized (I feel it'd be in-character for her to say that due to the trauma associated with those events) I do understand why people were offended by it, plus he just made her into a love interest and damsel in distress.
> 
> And from, what I heard, Joss had a script of his own for Wonder Woman, and in that all the men were really mean to Diana and the plot revolved around Steve Trevor rather than her. Wow! Gender issue aside, the movie not revolving around the main protagonist is just stupid as hell.
> 
> Plus. Gal Gadot said that Joss asked her to do a sexual scene for Justice League, and she refused (Respect!). So if you consider his treatment of Natasha in Age of Ultron and that of Diana in Justice League (like Bruce and Barry respectively falling into their breasts), or the number of ass shots he had for Diana, it definitely doesn't paint a flattering picture of the guy.
> 
> And now that Charisma has confirmed these abuse allegations, it only shows that he never was this feminist God, rather a sexist douche. I'm not gonna pretend to know the person, but I guess his mentality is- "Since I'm a feminist who creates strong female characters, I should be allowed to treat women, both real and fictional, like trash."
> 
> Also, if you do take a look at his strong female characters (whom I admire and adore)- Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Faith, Tara, Darla, Fred, Dawn, Anya, Lilah, etc. one thing I've noticed is he also loves tearing them down brutally. For Faith and Willow, it made sense (though at times I feel he went too far with Willow), with Buffy too, it made sense, though he went too far many times, but with Tara and Fred, it was just cruel and unnecessary, and with Cordelia, he was obviously punishing Charisma for getting pregnant, jackass. Guess he only likes Charisma pregnant when its Demon Spawn *shakes head in disgust* For Dawn, I don't have much to say, since as much as I love her (yes, I love Dawn, and never got the hate for her!), she had some annoying moments in Season 6, though that Season was more Marti than Joss (of course Michelle mentioned that rule that Joss should never be in the same room as her, so add inappropriate behavior with a teenage girl to the list of scumbag things he's done). For Anya, while I think the way her character arc ended made sense, and Emma herself asked for her character arc to be ended that way, he could still have done her ending much better. For Darla, while I think her character arc ended on a perfect note, she was quite wasted for a bit before that. And for Lilah, good Lord was she done dirty in Season 4. Like, he assassinated Cordelia's character and actually assassinated Lilah in one single scene, which is the end of 'Calvary'.
> 
> Plus, there's clearly a rape analogy in how the first Slayer that is Sineya was made, Buffy said to the Shadow Men- "You violated her." Its pretty clear, so the rape analogy kind of makes the Slayer thing less powerful than its meant to be, which is another example of Joss' problematic ideology.
> 
> Note- remaining rant is in the bottom A/N, because I was running out of space here in the top A/N.

"So now Team Angel has 3 members again, and their connection to the Powers That Be remains intact", Willow summed up for them all.

"Yeah, fortunately", Buffy said. "But trouble's always around."

"Unfortunately", Xander said as all nodded, and then the recording was started.

**At night, a girl was running for her life, terrified of whatever was chasing her. Rounding a corner, she ran right into a man. He grabbed her, laying a metal tipped finger against her lips. He had fangs. He drew a mark on her cheek, bit and drained her. Her lifeless body slipped to the ground. Police sirens were heard. The Vampire looked up, and it was Angel in vamp face.**

"Okay, what?" Buffy said, everyone clearly shocked.

"He just killed a woman?" Giles said, as shocked as the rest. While he wasn't Angel's fan, he did know that Angel wouldn't kill innocent people like that.

"What is going on?" Dawn wondered too.

"I think it's more than meets the eye", Tara counselled.

**He morphed back into human face and gasped for breath. Then he was sitting up on his bed fully dressed and clearly wigged.**

"Huh?" Willow wondered.

"So….he was dreaming!" Buffy said.

"Looks like it", Giles sighed, this making much more sense.

**Kate drove up to a crime scene in a police car, being lead to a body by an officer, and it was the girl from Angel's dream. There were bite marks on her neck and a cross scratched on her left cheek, and Kate recognized the MO, saying this person had gotten 3 now.**

"Now what is this?" Xander wondered, as confused as the rest. "Angel was dreaming this girl is gonna get killed, and she does?"

"Did he get linked to the Powers or something as well?" Tara asked the rest.

"I don't think he was", Willow shook her head.

"How is this happening?" Buffy wondered. "Angel doesn't kill innocents, and he hasn't become Angelus."

"Or maybe he's having some split personality problem now", Dawn suggested.

"Could be, but let's watch, and we will know", Giles said, and all agreed.

**Cordelia was sitting behind her desk in Angel's office, and she was talking to someone, saying how LA had its dark side, and since the police couldn't help them, they had come to Angel Investigations. But she was just talking to the empty chair.**

"So, she was pretending to talk to a potential customer, noted", Xander said.

"In preparation for any actual clients", Willow said. "If she talks like this, she can be convincing."

**Wesley then arrived with a newspaper and some letters, joking the chair was going to speak as Cordelia called him a smart-ass rogue Demon Hunter, and he said he was here to compare battle plans from their respective fronts. Cordelia pointed out he worked alone but Wesley said that a solitary soldier like himself also recognized the benefits of exchanging intelligence, while adding he had brought her mail and newspaper.**

"Just admit you work with them now", Giles said, a little annoyed as all chuckled.

**Cordelia took it and then asked what Wesley had got, saying he wanted to compare 'skinnies', and Wesley said all seemed quiet, while she thanked him for stopping by.**

"That sounds really dirty, the way they said it", Xander said and all chuckled again.

**Wesley then inquired how things were going with her and Cordelia said she was giving the hard sell to an empty chair, with Wesley saying he'd be available as they were an effective, having vanquished the empath Demon, and Cordelia agreed, saying it was nice to not have her eyes gouged out.**

All winced on remembering Barney, still fresh in their minds.

**Wesley said Angel's brawn, her cryptic visions and his own deductive skills rounded out their team nicely, and then Cordelia said this wasn't their mail.**

"You were saying?" Dawn asked as all chuckled.

**Cordelia pointed out this was for the dentist's office next door, Wesley getting up to return them as he left and Angel arrived from the elevator, asking who Cordelia was talking to, and she said 'nobody and Wesley', and then Cordelia reminded him of a license plate from a runaway case, Angel reminding she was supposed to work on it, but Cordelia said the BMV was stalker-phobic before noting Angel looked half-dead, and added that it was neat for someone fully dead.**

Everyone chuckled as Tara said. "She does make a good point."

"Yeah, never thought about it that way", Willow agreed.

**Angel asked for the license plate and Cordelia said Kate could do it, asking if he was okay again, pointing out he had bags under his eyes, and an annoyed Angel started walking out, only to walk into a patch of sunlight, making him jerk back as he decided to take the tunnels.**

"His mind is not in it today, something is definitely up", Buffy said.

"Let's see", Dawn agreed.

**Cordelia shut the door while Wesley lurked in the foyer with the mail, looking at the closed door, then sneaked to the exit.**

"Now Wes, what are you up to?" Xander asked.

"Looks like sneaking to me", Dawn said.

**At the police station, Kate walked in with Angel behind her, the former pointing out that info couldn't be leaked out to civilians, and Angel appreciated what she was doing. Kate sat down, saying she'd run it for him, and Angel assured her it was no rush, and Kate mentioned her current case by saying she wouldn't mind getting her head out of it, and Angel asked if it was a tough one. Kate showed him 3 pictures- an old man, a young girl who had started 10** **th** **grade and a 25 year old waitress, and the one thing common between them was what had been done to them all, though Angel pointed out she was common too.**

"So this is the case about this killer Vamp", Buffy noted.

"And a split personality Angel might be it", Tara pointed out.

"Which would be horrible", Giles sighed.

**An officer handed Kate some photos of crime scenes as she started talking to Angel but then saw he was staring at the photos, while he flashed to the scene from his dream, and Kate said she'd tried to get into the guy's head, the tabloids called him 'the Pope', and he probably thought he was doing God's work, but Angel said it was about mocking God, adding it was a guess.**

"So he is involved somehow", Willow noted.

"Yeah, but I don't think he would really kill at this point", Xander said, and it was surprising coming from him. "Yeah, I know, I hate him and all that, but after seeing him in these recordings, I really don't think he is capable of killing innocent people as long as his soul is intact."

"Well, that's good to know", Buffy said.

**An officer said to Kate it was time and she turned to Angel but he was already halfway out of the office. Later, she sat at the police briefing. "Our suspect will be a white male. To the observer he will not seem a monster. His victims put up little or no struggle, so it's likely that he is charming, attractive." Angel walked down a crowded street at night. "But at his core he is a loner. Possibly a dual personality, who once the crime has been committed, retains no memory of the act. He will not view his victims as subhuman, rather it's himself that he views as something other than human, more than human, a superior species. Stalking his prey, getting to know them. It's unlikely that he'll be married though he may have recently come off a long-term relationship that ended badly. We look for a precipitating event in cases such as this, and a painful breakup is always at the top of the list." Angel spotted a blonde talking to some friends, her back to him. "Prior to failing this relationship may have marked an inactive period in our suspects life. He would have regarded it as a lifeline, his salvation", the blonde turned and it wasn't Buffy. Angel walks on. "But once ended, it resulted in his recidivism. - What is not in question is his experience. He's been doing this for a very long time, and he will do it again."**

"So, she's Sherlock?" Buffy asked randomly. "With the evidence she collected, she managed to give a summary of Angel's life before, during and after me."

"Guess she's a really smart cop, though with that amount of smartness, it's a surprise she hasn't moved up", Tara noted.

"Or she doesn't want to maybe", Willow pointed out.

"Anyway, the description she gave does match Angel", Xander sighed.

"But nothing is proven", Dawn reminded.

"Yes", Giles pointed out.

**Cordelia was about to leave the office and opened the door only to see Wesley as both gasped.**

All chuckled as Willow noted. "This is becoming a gag now."

**Wesley came in, asking about Angel as Cordelia noticed the stake in his hand, and then Wesley put his bag down before taking out a newspaper clipping, saying it was from the mix up in the morning, making Cordelia shocked that he had cut up Dr. Folger's newspaper which would get them kicked out the building, but Wesley pointed out at the clipping. Cordelia read it was about a third body found in an alley and said it wasn't front page news, but Wesley said it was actually and after talking about the MO, Wesley asked her to sit, and pulled out a folder, saying while he was Watcher in Sunnydale, he had done research on Angel due to his uncomfortable proximity to the Slayer. Cordelia said he looked pretty comfortable to her.**

"Slayer has a name, and there were two", Buffy reminded.

"I don't think they considered Faith a Slayer till she helped out against the First Evil", Willow said.

**Wesley then told Cordelia in the late 1700s Angelus also used to carve his victims with a Christian cross on the left cheek, making Cordelia ask him to leave as he was accusing Angel, saying Angel may have been evil in his 'powdered wig' days, but now he was good and her friend, so nothing Wesley said or did would make her turn on a friend.**

"She is pretty loyal", Dawn noted.

"More than we would have expected of her", Buffy said. "She is changing."

"For the better", Willow said with a smile.

**Then Angel arrived, saying Wesley was right, and Cordelia immediately asked Wesley to stake him while she'd cut off his head.**

All groaned, wondering whether to be annoyed or amused.

**Wesley threatened Angel with a cross as he turned his head away, saying he won't hurt them, while Cordelia inquired about the body, with Wesley asking why they should believe him, making Angel laugh, grab his arm, spin him around and grab him by the neck, saying he could take him this fast if he wanted to.**

Xander gulped, remembering the time he had stood up to Angelus. Sure, it had been a very brave thing of him to do, but he wondered what would have happened had Angelus wanted to kill him that day. He was lucky to live.

"So, Wesley is trying to be tough guy and failing", Tara noted.

"Nothing new about that", Giles said.

**Angel then pushed Wesley away, saying he had no memory of what he did and sat on the edge of the desk, talking about his dreams, where he stalked his victims, toyed with them, then marked them, and then fed on them, also saying he'd enjoyed them, Wesley thinking it may be some kind of sleepwalking, and when Cordelia pointed out about sunlight, Wesley pointed out the murders happened before dawn, and Angel said there is one way to be sure.**

"So he has dreams, people die, and it's like he killed them, but no is sure", Buffy summed up. "And I think I know what he's going to do."

**Later, Wesley and Cordelia shackled Angel to the bed, Cordy joking she got to make coffee and chain the boss to the bed in her glamorous LA life, so she should join a union, and Cordelia made it a little tighter than normal. She then said Angel may be doing the crimes in his dreams, but she still didn't want to stick around, asking him to sleep tight.**

"Now if someone dies while he's chained up, it would prove he is not guilty", Willow said before realizing. "But someone is going to die."

And that plummeted the mood.

**A girl dressed in old-fashioned clothes and a white bonnet was running down a cobble street at night. She knocked on a locked door. A guy grabbed her and laid a metal tipped finger on her lips. He marked her left cheek with a cross, then fed off her. She fell dead to the ground. Then Angelus was seen with shoulder length hair and old fashioned clothes.**

Everyone felt a bit disturbed again before Buffy said. "But this happened in the past, look at the clothes."

"So it's just a dream", Tara noted.

**Angel woke up with a gasp, still chained to the bed as Wesley told Angel they'd made it, and Cordelia said that while there had been a killing, he wasn't the one to do it. Wesley was going to unshackle him when Angel said. "Yes I did."**

"How is that possible?" Dawn wondered, as confused as the rest. "Does he have a psychic connection to this killer or something?"

**In the past, the girl lay dead as Angelus watched, and a blonde Vampire straightened, morphing into human face. He was the killer, and he noted he had killed his sister, and felt nothing but hungry. Angelus told him he learnt quick, though the Vamp said his father would disagree, so Angelus asked him to show him what a fine student he was, and the Vamp agreed, remembering it would be dinner time now, so Angelus asked him to savor the moment, calling him 'Penn'.**

"Now who the hell is this guy?" Xander wondered.

"Looks like a student of Angelus", Buffy noted grimly. "And not a Fine Arts student clearly."

"So Angelus made another guy a Vamp, and he killed his family as a test to impress Angelus", Willow said, all freaked out clearly. "Yikes!"

"Jesus Christ!" Dawn said too.

**In present day, Penn, looked at the latest newspaper article about the murder he had committed. He had a short goat-tee, short hair, styled somewhat like Angel's, and was wearing glasses. Newspaper clippings were stuck on one wall. He added the new clipping and looked at them all.**

"So this is the killer", Buffy noted. "He is killing all those people."

"And since Angelus taught him, the MO is the same, and Angel became a suspect", Willow realized.

"I know it's not important, but for some reason, he looks like he'd be a good archer", Xander commented randomly.

"Yeah, I am getting the same feeling from him", Dawn agreed.

"Me too", Tara added.

"Perhaps it's a skill he has secretly", Giles shrugged.

"Really? To me he looks like a secret super-agent or something?" Willow said. "Caught in a conspiracy."

"Or just an agent", Buffy shrugged.

"Maybe an agent who knows archery", Dawn said. "With modern arrows."

"Like Green Arrow", Xander said and all nodded. "Or Hawkeye. Yeah, I think Hawkeye suits him more."

"Sure does", Dawn agreed. "I think it suits him perfectly." [1]

**In his apartment, Angel finished telling Wes and Cordy about Penn, saying he had taught him well, Cordelia wondering why his shtick was the same, and Wesley said how it was a classic and started giving an example but a look from the two made him shut up before saying Penn might be using the same MO to draw him out, announce his presence, and it might explain the dreams. Angel said he had a close connection with those he sired so he was close, and Cordelia pointed out the cops couldn't stop him.**

"And that explains the dreams", Tara said, all sighing in relief that Angel was completely in the clear now.

"But Penn is out there, killing people", Buffy pointed and they groaned at that, knowing he needed to be stopped.

**Angel decided to tell Kate but Wesley pointed out he couldn't since it was intimate knowledge of murders, and he couldn't claim a 200 year old puritan was behind it, but Angel realized she could find him with her resources, and it could be good for them.**

"So now she'll find him, and Angel will follow along as she does", Xander noted. "Not the worst plan, but things are gonna go wrong."

"Yeah", Willow nodded.

**Later, Angel walked into the police station with a paper in his hands as Kate said she had info on his license plate, and he asked to talk in private, her agreeing, as they walked to the briefing room where Angel looked at the photos and inquired about the investigation, Kate saying it was going nowhere. Angel looked at the pictures, matching them to Penn's dead family in his mind and realized he was reliving it, puzzling Kate as he saw the cross between her fingers, and then asked Kate if she trusted him, which she did.**

"Looks like he's about to tell her something", Xander noted.

**Angel unfolded his paper and pinned the drawing of Penn's face to the board, saying this was the man, once again asking if she trusted him, which she did, and Angel described what the next victim would be like, and how he'd be killed, saying Kate needed to use all her resources for this.**

"So this is what he revealed", Dawn said.

"Just barely enough", Buffy said.

**Angel later walked through the police garage to his car where Wesley waited, telling him he'd told Kate enough to get her killed, and handed him a police scanner so they'd be updated, and asked where he had gotten it. Angel said he'd stolen it, making Wesley exclaim 'Oh dear'!**

"Oh dear!" Giles said too.

"Desperate times, desperate measures", Tara said.

**Kate later briefed the officers about their job, while a kid was accosting people in front of the liquor store, trying to get them to buy beer from him, and then he noticed Penn, asking him to do it, and he smiled.**

"Don't drink till you're of age, kid", Xander said, all worried for him.

**A cop car pulled up, having a copy of Angel's drawing and saw Penn leading the kid away, and they walked down a deserted street, Penn saying the kid reminded him of a brother he had, and the kid turned around to see Penn in Vamp face who bit him when police cars closed up, Penn looking up with blood in his mouth, with the officers telling him to hold it. Penn dropped the kid, ran and jumped through the boarded up second story window into a warehouse, while the cop stared in disbelief.**

"The kid is saved", Tara said and all sighed in relief.

"Hopefully this teaches him a lesson on Vamps", Xander said. "And strangers in general."

**Angel and Wesley heard what was going on via radio, and pulled up, as they saw an officer and Kate talking, he shaken but alive kid being wheeled away on a stretcher. Kate pulled up her gun to go in while Angel spotted a drain pipe on the building's side and backed up to park, and then they got out as Angel took a hold of the pipe and scaled up.**

"Apprentice and master about to meet", Giles muttered.

**Kate entered a room and hearing footsteps aimed her gun at Penn who walked down some stairs, and she eventually shot him thrice as he walked to her, and he fell down motionless at the bottom of the stairs. Kate walked to him and reached down to check his pulse, not finding it, and was about to report when Penn grabbed her, throwing her across the room. She tried to get up as he walked to her and then Angel dropped to the floor to land in between in a cloud of dust, looking at Kate to make sure she was fine before turning to Penn.**

"And now we got a reunion", Buffy said as all watched with interest.

**Penn recognized Angelus, clapping and laughing happily as he said it had been a lifetime, and reminded they were to meet in Italy, and said he had waited till the 19** **th** **century. Angelus said he had gotten held up in Romania, which had Gypsies.**

"So he was going to meet Penn when the Gypsies did the spell", Willow said. "Random interesting fact."

"And Penn kept waiting", Dawn commented.

**Kate radioed in for assistance as Penn asked for a drink but Angel said he wasn't here for that. "Yeah, why are you here?" Penn asked. Angel morphed into Vamp face as Kate stared in disbelief. "To kill you." Angel rammed into him, the two falling down before Penn threw him back and leaping up, kicked him, beating him down before Angel blocked and threw him off, Kate scooting against the wall. Angel then beat him up and threw him through a plaster wall, asking Kate to get out when Penn shot back through the hole, tackling Angel.**

"He's good", Tara noted.

"Clearly learnt from the best. Or the worst", Giles said.

**They rolled to their feet, Penn wondering what had happened to Angel, who swung at him but he ducked, grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. Angel said people changed but Penn said they weren't people. He threw Angel into Kate, who had her gun aimed at him. When he got back up, Penn was gone, and Kate stared at his Vampire face as the radio called to her.**

"Cat's out of the bag", Buffy said, now all wondering how this would go.

"Well, he has helped her out though", Dawn pointed out. "Even if he did keep a big secret."

"When people get exposed to a new side of the world, especially supernatural, do not expect sensible reactions", Giles said.

"Can't disagree", Buffy told him, remembering burning down the gym in her LA high school. She noted this was how Kate knew Angel was a Vamp, but this couldn't be enough to make Kate want to kill him. By that point, they ought to have made up, right?

**Later, Angel was back in human face while officers combed the warehouse. Kate was in disbelief that Penn had survived 3 shots, and as Angel walked to her, she pulled out a gun on him, asking if he would also get up after 3 shots. Angel told her she knew the answer as she put down the gun while he said details would have been left out in press reports due to something the police held back- puncture wounds, and the victims had been drained of blood, and he warned her she couldn't stop him like this before saying only direct sunlight, decapitation or a stake through the heart could do it.**

"And now he's telling her", Willow said.

"I don't think she'd believe it yet", Tara said. "Her mind is racing."

**Kate said Angel was telling her children's stories but Angel said this was the truth, and she wasn't believing it so she'd lose. She was still in disbelief so Angel closed his fist around the cross on her neck, his flesh sizzling as she gasped, and he told her she wasn't ready to face some things. He walked off as she stared after him.**

"So that's how a cop finds out about the supernatural", Xander said. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"She's after a killer Vampire, and she knows Angel is a Vampire too now, and he didn't tell her before while she did favors for him, though he did save her too", Dawn summed up. "This is getting complicated."

"People are always complicated", Giles said.

**Kate later sat in the briefing room, looking at pictures as a cop brought in the oldest records with this MO he could find, and she saw some old newspaper headlines, one which said 'Vampire Killer Strikes Again In Garment District'.**

"Now she might just find out about Angelus", Buffy said as all paled.

**Cordelia was talking to someone in the office, asking how he found out about them, and it was Penn, saying through the police.**

"Oh crap!" Willow said, everyone tensing at this.

**Penn talked about the Detective, and described her as Cordelia gave her name, and said how she and Angel were tight, Penn realizing it was more than just a professional relationship, and then Cordelia while ranting realized Penn was pumping her for information, and then figured out who he was.**

"At least she knows now", Giles said.

"But he's still there", Buffy said.

**Penn started. "You realize you'll never make it to the exit before I..." Cordy pulled up the blinds and Penn had to dodge away from the direct sunlight streaming in. "Go up like a match?" Angel then arrived, he and Penn separated by the swath of sun shining through the window, and he told Cordelia to get him a stake. She was a bit confused before she walked to get it while Penn asked if Angel didn't drink, no one should, but Angel said he wouldn't understand, Penn reminding he used to be a puritan. Penn said this never ended and always went on, and then Cordelia came back with a stake, tossing it to Angel.**

"Well, he's going to go down", Xander said.

**Angel apologized for what he had done to Penn, as Penn boasted about what he was but Angel called him a pathetic cheesy hack as he was trying to get back at his father for over 200 years, noting he would have a killer shrine too. Penn retreated to the door as Wesley came in, not seeing Penn, and started there was nothing on the streets when Penn grabbed him by the throat, Wesley finishing because the Vamp was here and had him by the throat.**

"You had to ruin it", Giles said and all groaned.

"Same old Wesley", Buffy muttered.

"Yeah, this did screw it all up", Willow said.

**Angel stepped forward but the sunlight stopped him as Penn said he appreciated the critique, so he asked Angel to think of the worst thing possible and Penn would be there. He threw Wesley at Angel, grabbed his coat to cover himself and ran out.**

"And he's gone again", Dawn said, everyone sighing.

**Kate looked through some books and made notes in a store called 'Ancient's Eye' while Angel walked on the streets and Penn contemplated his next move.**

"Okay, I know this is not important, but the music is like Batman", Xander said, and no one could disagree.

**Kate was making notes when Angel arrived, asking if he could come in, but Kate knew he had to be invited in, and said she'd done all her homework, noting how Penn had been in LA earlier in the century as well, and then as Angel tried to talk, she called him 'Angelus' as Penn had called him that, saying his description was that he was a demon with the face of an Angel, a truly evil bastard, and refused him entry.**

"Now she knows it all", Willow sighed.

"Would make anyone hate him", Buffy said. "I didn't like that either. And he had helped me before too."

**Angel said he couldn't atone for the past but she said he had made Penn, so this was because of him, and told him she'd stake him, and the next time they met, she'd stake Angel as well before slamming the door in his face.**

"Rude", Dawn muttered.

"But understandable to some extent. She just found out about the supernatural, so her reaction wouldn't be rational", Tara said. "Though I do think she should still give him the benefit of the doubt due to how many times he helped her."

"Yeah, but since its Angelus she found out about, who wouldn't be wary?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, it's like if you're friends with Ted Bundy without knowing who he is, and then you find out", Xander gave an analogy. "Though Angel isn't the bad guy anymore."

**At the office, Cordelia and Wesley searched for stuff on computer and old newspapers respectively, noting he had been in this town before, Angel calling him predictable, and later he and Wesley entered his hotel room, Wesley jumping in and inviting Angel but he said it was only for humans.**

"How does he not know that?" Giles wondered. "The oaf!"

"He's not stupid, just too excited, and overestimates himself", Buffy said and Giles had to concede.

**They looked around, noting Penn was gone, and then Angel found photos of a school bus, and Wesley saw its route was traced too, the two realizing what he was doing.**

"So he's going to kill kids then", Buffy said, all angry and disgusted. "Really hope Angel stops him before that."

"But isn't a bus out in the sunlight? I doubt he could make into a school bus before turning to ash", Dawn pointed out.

"Maybe he has a way to get to one", Willow said.

**At the briefing in the police station, Kate showed everyone the drawing of Penn and a picture of Angel from some security footage from back when everyone had become sensitive, saying they needed to find Penn and Angel would be how, and also said many men will be needed, and then Penn walked in, saying the drawing was terrible due to the mouth all wrong.**

"Oh crap!" Everyone but Giles went together while he said 'Oh dear!' instead.

"So the school bus was to throw Angel off", Buffy realized as all tensed.

**Two detectives jumped Penn as he threw them across the room into others. Kate scrambled to get her stake while Penn swept through the room at his Vampire speed, taking down two cops before he grabbed Kate from behind, leaving by using her as a shield.**

"Man, I know they are fast, but it's still something to witness it", Xander said.

"Yup, out of all of us, only you are as fast as them", Tara said to Buffy.

"The rest of us have just fought them for so long that we are used to their speed now", Giles said, and no one disagreed. [2]

"He's got Kate though", Buffy said, and all were tense again.

**Wesley drove Angel's car to the underground garage of the police station, the place humming with activity as Angel threw his blanket off, though Wesley was confused why they were here. A cop slammed his hand on the hood of the car to make them hold it as cop cars drove past them, and Angel told Wesley Penn was here, running in between the cop cars to a partially open sewer cover.**

"Looks like Angel saw through his distraction", Buffy said.

"He knows Penn too well, so he could figure it out", Willow said.

**Penn dragged Kate through the sewer tunnels as she asked what he'd do, and he said he was going to tell her his plan before throwing her into the wall, and said he's show her instead. Penn then morphed into Vamp face, sniffing her fear and saying it made the blood sweeter, asking her who'd have taught him that. Kate said she wasn't afraid to die, and Penn said he wouldn't kill her but when he was done with her, Angel would.**

"He wants to turn her", Tara realized as all but Buffy paled, as she remembered meeting.

"Remember, I met her once, so she makes it out alive", Buffy reminded and all were slightly relieved, though the scene was still tense.

**Angel then arrived, saying he hadn't fallen for Penn's ploy, and Kate pulled out a glass bottle as Penn looked at Angel. Penn said he could have but Angel said it was too original, and then Kate splashed Holy Water on Penn's face, making him throw her aside as his left side turned into burns.**

"It's started", Dawn said as all watched.

" **Well, you were right about one thing, Angelus. The last 200 years has been about me sticking it to my father. But I've come to realize something – it's you!" He jumped up and kicked Angel in the stomach. "You made me!" He kicked him in the face, then double fisted him a couple of times. "You taught me!" Angel dropped to the floor and Penn jumped on his back. "You approved of me in ways my mortal father never did! You are my real father, Angelus." Angel got up, holding Penn up above his head: "Fine! He slammed him into the ground. "You're grounded."**

In spite of the tense situation, all chuckled at Angel's joke, though Penn seeing him as a father was disturbing, because it was true.

**The two fought, leaping, kicking and punching while Kate crawled to a broken board, picking it up. Angel beat Penn and threw him off, but Penn recovered and threw him off before knocking the board out of Kate's hand and knocking her down. Angel pulled him off of her and punched him before dodging a punch and running him into a wall but Penn ran up it and flipping, grabbed Angel by the neck from behind, saying Angel had forgotten his old lessons, like not giving up the advantage. During that time, Kate had reclaimed her board.**

"Now he has Angel", Xander said, everyone's hearts beating faster.

**Angel looked at Kate with the piece of wood, while Penn said Angel had become weak living among humans. Angel and Kate just looked at each other, close-ups of their faces, eyes and the wood. And then Kate rammed the piece of wood through Angel's stomach and up into Penn's heart. Angel gasped in pain while Penn turned to dust. Angel gasped and staring at the half of the board still sticking out of his stomach. "You missed." Kate was wide eyed. "No I didn't." She grabbed the board and pulled it out as Angel collapsed, cradling his stomach, and Kate sank a few feet away from him, their relationship permanently strained now.**

"Well, Penn is gone", Willow said and everyone sighed in relief at that.

"But their relationship is strained", Buffy noted and all nodded, though Buffy knew this was still not enough to make her want to kill Angel, since she had a chance to do it now and hadn't.

**Later, Angel sat over his building's roof, looking at the city lights as Cordelia walked to him, wearing a wool poncho and leaned on the embrasure next to him, handing him a piece of paper with a new job since she had a vision. Angel said this place was like where he had grown up, though Cordelia pointed out the modern stuff, but Angel pointed out this was people moving with their lives, and nothing changed. Cordelia reminded him they were dreams and not even his, but Angel said he had enjoyed them, Cordelia telling him not to mention it again. Angel said it was still in him as Cordelia said. "Sure it's in you. We all have something. But it's not the only thing that's in you. You're not him, Angel. Not anymore. The name I got in my vision, the message didn't come for Angelus, it came for you. Angel. And you have to trust that whoever that The Powers That Be be, - are, - is.. anyway, - they know the difference."**

"Yes, it's not the only thing inside", Buffy agreed. "There is Angelus, but there is also Angel, the good guy."

"She's a great friend", Willow commented. "And I never thought I'd say that."

"Proof that people change", Tara said and all nodded with smiles.

"Yes, everyone does", Xander agreed begrudgingly.

**Angel agreed as Cordelia said people did change, as he got off the embrasure to stand next to her. "And sometimes they change back. - If the day ever comes that I..." "Oh, I'll kill you dead!" Cordelia said. Angel blinked. "Thanks." Cordelia turns to go. "What are friends for?" Angel followed her a half-smile on his face. The screen went black.**

"I think that would earn his trust, seeing how Angel is in all of these recordings", Buffy told everyone. "He would approve killing him if he becomes Angelus again."

"If there is no other choice, that has to be done", Xander sighed.

"So, Penn is gone, but his relationship with Kate is strained", Dawn said. "We up for one more right?'

"Yes, one more to go for the day", Buffy said as they turned changed the recording to the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, the remainder of my rant- And, I was watching Michael Rosenbaum's podcast that is 'Inside of You' (I highly recommend that to everyone) and there, James Marsters confirmed to Rosenbaum that Joss had once backed him up against a wall angrily because he was pissed that Spike got so popular (his original plan was to kill off Spike in 10 episodes since he wanted only one romantic Vampire at the time, which would be Angel, though I'm glad that didn't pan out since I'm a huge Spike fan and also a huge Season 7 Spuffy fan). Rosenbaum was clearly shocked, you can hear it in his voice, he asked James if Joss was messing around, and when James said no, Rosenbaum asked if Joss apologized. James tried to downplay it, but this doesn't sound like professional behavior from Joss, and Rosenbaum got it too.
> 
> So all I'm gonna say is that I still love and appreciate Joss' work- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel (my 4th and 3rd favorite shows ever respectively), Firefly, Dollhouse (in spite of its problems), Serenity, and the first 2 Avengers films, and I won't let my anger at Joss make me hate his work, because its amazing (and he wasn't the only one who worked on this stuff. Other writers, directors and the actors worked on it too).
> 
> I do appreciate all the Buffyverse actors, as well as others who've worked under Joss, since they managed to give us iconic, amazing and lovable characters in spite of working in such a toxic environment set up by Joss. Charisma especially is an angel for coming back for Season 5 after how Joss abused her and treated Cordelia in Season 4, and he didn't have the decency to inform her to her face that she was fired after giving birth, she found out from a news outlet. But she still returned for Cordelia and for grateful fans like me to give Cordelia's character arc an amazing exit, for which I, a humble fan, is forever grateful.
> 
> What I've learnt in life is don't idolize any real person, they will disappoint you sometime. Like David Draiman, Disturbed's lead vocalist, I idolized him (and I'm still a huge fan of him as well as the band, my most favorite) but he was once rude to a fan during a performance because she was messaging her daughter on the phone, and I lost respect for him when I heard that, though he did apologize later so there's that.
> 
> Then we also have the lovable Chloe Sullivan in Smallville being played by an absolute scumbag that is Allison Mack, or Goku being voiced in the English Dub of DBZ by Sean Schemmel, who is a confirmed jerk to fans.
> 
> Simply put, if I hate Joss' works because he's horrible, its not fair to everyone else who worked on those shows or films. Plus, I've been suffering from depression heavily since 2015, and while it was getting better, recently, it has started getting worse, and its Buffy and Angel, as well as Lord of the Rings and DBZ, and my favorite music that help me through my depression. So hating Joss' work over his behavior will make me lose something important that helps me through depression.
> 
> So I'll just end this by saying that Joss' works, especially Buffy and Angel, will always have a special place in my heart and I'll always love them, but I stand against his abuse of all the actors and writers under him. #IStandWithCharisma #IStandWithRayFisher #IStandAgainstAbuse
> 
> Rant ends here, now the proper bottom A/N. 
> 
> I have no idea what people thought of this episode back in the day, but since Jeremy Renner is Hawkeye in the MCU (biggest franchise ever obviously), I am sure many people would love it much more than they used to back then.
> 
> And because of Jeremy Renner, Penn is the 2nd best one-note Vampire in the whole Buffyverse. Yes, 2nd best, because no one is can be a better one-note Vampire than Holden Webster, not even Jeremy Renner.
> 
> [1] Obviously a reference to Renner's role as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, though I also managed to sneak in references to his role as William Brandt in the Mission: Impossible films and Aaron Nash in 'The Bourne Legacy'.
> 
> [2] Since Vamps are superhuman, this is my explanation regarding why people like Wesley, Gunn, Xander and Giles can fight them decently, because they have fought them for so long, and studied them, that they are used to their superhuman reaction speed and strength and all that.
> 
> So this is it, and next up is *groans* CORDELIA DRINKING BLOOD! Though we are halfway through Season 1 now, YAY!
> 
> Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	15. Expecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang witness Cordelia's supernatural pregnancy, the first of many, unfortunately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> So this is the last viewing chapter before Break III, and then 4 more episodes. Hope all enjoy this one.
> 
> And after I posted the last chapter- David Boreanaz, Julie Benz, Amy Acker, Nicholas Brendon, Adam Busch, Tom Lenk and Danny Strong have all spoken for Charisma and against Joss too. Funny how Warren and Andrew are scumbags but their actors are such nice people. But then again, that is the art of acting.

"Now I wonder what this one has in store", Willow said.

"Knowing the kind of life we all live, nothing good", Buffy said as she started the recording.

**At night in the office, Cordelia put on some lipstick using a lobby window as a mirror, Angel complimenting her as she jumped and spun around, before looking back at her reflection, and now a streak of lipstick had gone from her mouth's corner to her cheek, making her comment how she looked like Joker now.**

"Yeah, she does", Xander said as they all chuckled. "Now if she put on a jester suit, she'll be Joker and Harley in one."

**Angel apologized as Cordelia said how he could hum a tune when he was sneaking up on people while fixing her lipstick, and then Angel asked her why she had filed Mrs. Benson under 'P', and after a small argument, Cordelia remembered it was actually 'F' since she was from France, and Angel reminded she made him want to drink, Cordelia saying that was the French for him.**

"Are the French really like that?" Buffy asked Giles.

"Maybe they met some unique one", Giles said.

**Then Wesley arrived, saying he had been in the neighborhood with his new Bavarian fighting ax. He held it up, saying he thought Cordelia might have had a vision so his help in the battle against evil would be needed, but Angel said they were evil-free at the moment, so Wesley asked if they would take him on a Word-Puzzle 3-D, Cordelia saying she wasn't 80 yet.**

"So he still can't admit that he is working with them", Willow commented.

"Still has some pride in him, but I think it will go away, based on what you said about him", Tara said.

**Wesley started if shaking a booty at a trendy hotspot was someone's idea of life, then he would be, but he never got to finish as Cordelia's two glamorous lady friends walked in, making him finish that he would be sick with envy.**

Everyone chuckled as Xander said. "It happens to all of us."

**One of them called Sarina greeted him and complimented his ax as he nervously swung it around, embedding it into the wall, Angel not commenting, and Cordelia asked Sarina how she looked, Sarina saying Wilson wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of her. Angel and Wesley were confused who this Wilson was as Sarina said he was a fashion photographer from LA who had been seeing Cordelia, while she turned to Wesley and said the Hugh Grant thing was working for her. Angel asked why he didn't know she was seeing someone, and she said she was ashamed of him as he'd give him the third degree, the other friend called Emily commenting Angel could give her the third degree anytime.**

That made all chuckle again as Buffy said. "Perks of being that good looking."

"Yeah, that I have to admit", Xander muttered, though to be honest he really didn't look too bad himself, so perhaps he had been an outcast due to his bumbling habits rather than his looks. [1]

**Cordelia then put her hand to her forehead, dropping to the floor behind her desk as Angel knocked some letters to the floor, asking Cordelia to grab a file while Wesley started picking the letters, and Angel distracted the girls with talk of where they were going. Cordelia was writhing on the floor, a flash of her vision visible, and Angel accidentally made Sarina and Emily think he was gay.**

"How did they get that?" Dawn asked, confused.

"Maybe there are certain stereotypes in their heads which Angel accidentally projected", Tara said.

"Sucks", Willow muttered.

**Cordelia was back on her feet as Angel inquired about the client discreetly, and Cordelia flashed to her vision, saying the client was like a big baby hatching from an egg with really large hands, in need of a manicure, and writing an address, handed it to him, saying this was where they were supposed to meet. Then she left with her friends for the party.**

"Well, at least this time the vision didn't ruin her plans for the day", Buffy said and all found that good.

**Angel went to his coat as Wesley wondered if he'd need his help or not, and Angel handed him the address as he walked by him, making Wesley grin as he hurried after him, then turned back to sling his bag over his shoulder and tried to pull the axe from the wall. Angel watched from the lobby through one of the windows as Wesley pulled the axe free, falling to the floor in the process.**

Everyone laughed again as Giles said. "Still behaving like a bumbling buffoon."

**Wesley later looked at the address and lowered the paper to reveal a mailbox with the same address. Angel pulled out a sword while Wesley had the axe in his right hand and a crossbow in his left. They walked up the steps to the door, and Wesley kicked the door open, jumping through as Angel tried to follow but bounced off an invisible wall. Wesley pointed his weapons at an old couple, threatening them while Angel looked at a neighboring house and saw the thing from Cordelia's vision hatching through a window, and said how termites laid eggs everywhere, including next door, motioning there, and Wesley looked too, his weapons still trained on the older couple.**

"So, epic fail again", Dawn said. "Wesley is full of those."

"Put the weapons down", Willow said.

**Wesley lowered his weapons as Angel said they fought termites everywhere, so they left, Wesley apologizing for the door.**

"I think you shouldn't have gone in like that in the first place, since if the bad guy was here, they'd be alerted to your presence", Buffy commented.

**Later, the bedroom was seen from outside, the window splattered with orange slime. The demon baby screamed as Angel and Wesley battled him. One of them was thrown against the wall next to the window, making the plaster outside break. Wesley was then sent flying through the door with a scream, but he picked himself back up and ran in with his ax, saying the Demon would pay for that. There was some more fighting, then the Demon was heard dying with a squeal as Angel and Wesley walked out, splattered with gore and disheveled.**

"So, Demon is beaten, and Cordelia gets to go out, good day and happy ending, right?" Xander asked hopefully, though it was more of a way to convince himself that nothing would go wrong.

"This has just begun", Tara reminded grimly.

**Wesley commented how it was bracing and Angel wiped his sword, saying this was a newborn so they wouldn't want to run into it when it had a driver's license.**

Everyone gulped, wondering how bad that would be.

**Wesley sarcastically thanked Cordelia for sending them to the wrong house but Angel said it had worked out. Wesley said she wasn't paying attention to her duties lately, but Angel said she had a lot to deal with, including Doyle's death, inheriting the visions, and she was still young, trying to find her place in the world.**

"Yes, life hasn't been the kindest to her", Buffy said, sympathizing with her, as did the others. Cordelia may not have been called as a Slayer like Buffy was, but her life was full of hardships too, and she was facing them bravely.

**Wesley said Demon Hunters had a higher calling, Angel pointing out some gore on his cheek which he wiped, and then said he was fond of Cordelia but she was going out with doxies. Angel said they had liked him, making him say he didn't mean doxy in a sexual promiscuous sense, while also asking if the ax through the wall had put them off. They walked by a lady in a bathrobe with curlers in her hair as Angel said that was charming, and also said that the ladies finding them gay added to the mystery.**

That made everyone chuckle again as Tara said. "Angel really knows how to sate someone's insecurities."

"Guess that's a superpower too", Willow commented.

**At La Brea Lounge, Sarina talked to her date Jason and kissed him while Emily came over and said she was bored, and Cordelia was talking to Wilson on a couch. He asked what leaving Sunnydale had been like, and she said like skydiving without a parachute, and had also smashed her body to bits, before asking about a guy with fame and fortune who was supposed to be here, but Wilson said he came and went, Cordelia asking Wilson to tell him to not fleet her way.**

"If you tell him yourself, he wouldn't dare to", Xander said, making all laugh, because it was true.

**Wilson then thanked Cordelia for making him not hate dating and said he'd send Sarina flowers, and on seeing her look added for introducing her to him.**

"Isn't he charming?" Buffy asked, and no one could disagree.

"But I feel there is something more about him", Giles said, and no one could shake that feeling either.

**As they talked more, Wilson said he was photographing people, which was proof all had a real life but him, he was recording it, not living the moment like her, flattering her.**

"He sure knows how to flatter ladies", Dawn said.

"If only I knew it too", Xander muttered.

**Later, Cordelia opened the door to her apartment, thanking Wilson for everything, and after some ranting, the two ended up kissing, and they parted as Cordelia asked him to come in instead, Wilson walking in and looking around. Cordelia dimmed the lights and said compared to her old place, this was Buckingham Palace.**

"Yeah, that sounds right to me", Tara said.

**Wilson asked if she lived alone and the lights went bright at that point, making Cordelia comment she was the only one who lived here and was alive while she turned them back down, but they brightened again as Cordelia made an excuse about wiring and old buildings. Cordelia then said she was rusty in dating now, so she was open to suggestions, so Wilson suggested some music, and Cordelia turned the radio on but the mellow music was switched to some rousing Polka instead, making Cordelia laugh and turn it off.**

"Why is Dennis doing this?" Dawn wondered.

"Jealous?" Xander suggested.

"Or maybe Giles is right about the guy, and Dennis knows it too", Buffy said, and all realized that could be true too.

**Cordelia went into the kitchen, making tea, and asked Dennis to knock it off and she'd kill him if he killed the mood again, before realizing it was an empty threat as he was a ghost due to already being dead, and then said she'd play 'Evita' around the clock.**

"That is a legitimate threat", Giles said, everyone chuckling at Cordelia's behavior.

**Wilson asked who she was talking to and Cordelia ranted about a ghost in the place, passing it off as a joke and said she talked to herself. Wilson then leaned forward to kiss her, and soon, she kissed back, and later they were in the bedroom, kissing more while a bare back was seen.**

"That was a bit quick, wasn't it?" Xander asked. "And I'm not saying that because I'm jealous."

"Yes, it is very quick", Willow agreed. "Though the guy was a bit too charming."

"Still, it's a bit off", Buffy said, and all had a bad feeling.

**Cordelia woke up next morning, but Wilson was gone, and she noticed the time was 10:47 A.M., realizing she would be late. But when she pushed her blanket aside, she had a hugely pregnant belly.**

Everyone stared with wide eyes, unable to formulate words at what had just happened.

"Wha….wha…wha…..the hell?" Xander finally said, speaking for everyone. "Did 9 months pass in one night or something?"

"Mother of God!" Giles said, actually having to take off his glasses and clean them.

"How did this happen now?" Dawn wondered. "Did the guy have some magical….thing or something?"

"Maybe he did", Buffy said. "In which case, he shouldn't have slept with her, or wore protection, or just warned her of it. The jerk!"

"Dennis didn't like him, his intention were clearly bad in that case", Willow pointed out.

"And Cordelia fell for his charms", Tara sighed. "And this is what happened."

Everyone could feel their sympathy going out to her. Sure, she had sex with the guy way too quick, but that didn't automatically mean she deserved this! And it wasn't like casual sex was wrong every time, as long as it was agreed upon beforehand, which hadn't been the case here, and a sudden magical pregnancy just made it even worse. [2]

**Angel and Wesley later walked to her apartment, concerned that she hadn't returned their messages. Angel banged on the door and got no response, so he turned the knob, breaking the door, and came in, looking around and saying he had a bad feeling, and Wesley agreed, Angel saying this wasn't like her. Wesley started how avoiding her responsibilities was a lot like her nowadays but then Angel swung open the bedroom door and they saw Cordelia sitting up in bed, Wesley shocked already.**

"My reaction exactly", Giles said, everyone wondering how this was gonna go now.

**Cordelia didn't look at them and asked Angel why she wasn't waking up from her dream, begging for help, and Angel sat at the bed's edge, assuring he would. She told him all that had happened, saying it had been safe, and she hadn't even talked to him since it would be weird, but Angel said he'd have answers and assured she could call and he'd talk instead. Cordelia said she was being punished, but Angel assured she wasn't.**

The viewers did not outright cry, but Cordelia's condition did make their eyes watery.

"He did this! He needs to pay", Xander snarled, clutching his fists angrily, everyone else sharing his sentiments.

"If she had to be punished, then how much is she going to be? She has suffered enough already", Willow said. "She doesn't deserve this."

"No one good does", Tara agreed.

**Angel took the phone but the number had been disconnected, so he told Cordelia to rest while he'd look into this, assuring her she wouldn't be alone. Cordelia looked at her belly, saying that was the problem so she wanted to be left alone. Angel and Wesley left, assuring they'd be outside and closed the door. The box of tissues floated up from the night stand and one of the tissues floated over to Cordelia who took it, blew her nose and blotted at her eyes. The blanket moved up to her neck and Cordelia sighed.**

"He's so sweet", Dawn said about Dennis, and everyone agreed. He was a nice, sweet friend in need for Cordelia.

"Now if only he had managed to scare that guy away", Buffy sighed. "But at least he's here for her. Nice guy. Which you don't get a lot in LA."

"Yeah, he's a great guy, even if he's dead, to think his own mom did it", Willow said in sympathy and disgust, sympathy for Dennis and disgust for his mom.

"Oh she was a sick woman! She got punished for her actions when she died and then when Dennis took down her ghost", Giles snarled.

"And now he has a good roommate in Cordelia", Tara added.

"Yeah, and he's a nice one too", Xander agreed. "Good ol' Dennis."

**Later, Angel put down a phone, telling Wesley that all the ways to contact Wilson were off the table now, and said this might be a procrea-parasitic Demons, Wesley having heard of them and realized human mothers couldn't survive the labor, Angel also saying that ones that did wished they hadn't. Since Cordelia could give birth at any moment, they needed to move fast and decided for a pre-natal exam, while Angel would find daddy.**

"So the guy was a Demon who can get ladies pregnant really fast?" Willow wondered. "What a sicko to do that!"

"Yeah, really hope he gets beaten up soon", Dawn agreed.

"There are some Demons like that I've heard of, but none of them look like this. They are big and ugly", Giles said to the rest. "There is something more here."

Everyone's interest increased.

**Angel later arrived at the La Brea Lounge, speaking to the bartender, and eventually said one of the jerks he served drinks to had hurt his friend Cordelia, giving his name of Wilson Christopher. Angel asked about him, and the bartender said they hung wherever Sarina told them to, and she ruled the girls. Angel thanked him as the bartender asked. "So, you're her boyfriend?" Angel firmly said. "No. I'm family."**

That statement made everyone have a relieved and even hopeful smile. Angel and Cordelia were family now.

**At a waiting room in the hospital, another pregnant woman inquired about the baby's gender to Cordelia as she just stared in shock, while Wesley walked in, saying he'd told them this was urgent. The woman tried to touch Cordelia's stomach but Cordelia shut her away, freaked out.**

"She's so freaked", Willow muttered.

"Who wouldn't be in her place?" Tara asked.

**Later, a doctor examined Cordelia, noting she was 8 and a half months pregnant already, and Wesley commented t felt like yesterday. The doctor asked if they could have the name of her previous doctor but Cordelia said he was the first, Wesley adding in California as they'd moved from England. The doctor eventually asked Cordelia to lie down, calling her Mrs. Penborn.**

"Wesley being from England helps this act", Buffy commented.

**The doctor and the nurse started the ultra sound, noting there were twins, but then saw a third heartbeat, and more, shocking the doctor who assured her nothing was wrong and decided to withdraw the amniotic fluid. He asked the nurse to prep her while Wesley stared at the screen, then her.**

"What did this sicko put in her?" Dawn asked, angry and horrified.

"More than one", Xander snarled. "Bastard."

**Angel stepped out an elevator into a dimly lit hallway, knocking on a door as Sarina told him to leave it outside, but he walked in, seeing the place was dark and just lit by candles. Sarina had her back to him and was lighting another one. She said the light was hurting her eyes now, and Angel could relate. She turned to Angel, lifting a bottle to her lips and drinking. She was as pregnant as Cordelia. She said people would tell her not to drink as it would hurt the baby, but she hoped it did.**

"So, it's a whole racket then", Willow realized.

"A group of charming guys impregnating beautiful, unsuspecting women", Buffy said. "This is sick."

"Even I have not heard of something like this before", Giles said. "This is new, and horrifying."

**Cordelia was having a procedure done on her as the doctor asked her to countdown from 5 while they used a syringe to take some fluid, and Cordelia reached one, repeating it a few times while the fluid was extracted. He gave it to the nurse but then the syringe cracked and fell down, shattering, and the fluid burnt a hole in the ground, making the doctor and nurse leave while Wesley bent down, watching with a dropped jaw.**

The viewers had their mouths hanging open too.

"So he put something that corrosive in her?" Dawn asked, even more angry and horrified.

"Looks like it", Buffy sighed. "Come on, Angel, save her."

**Cordelia asked what was inside of her as Wesley insisted to find Angel, and then she asked if they looked healthy. Wesley stared at her.**

"Huh?!" Everyone went.

"How did this happen now?" Xander wondered.

"Maybe the longer she carries them, the more under this Demon's effect she is", Tara suggested. "So it's gaining control over her."

"Which means they need to work faster", Willow said urgently.

**Sarina was still in disbelief as Angel said it was happening to Cordelia too, the two telling each other than Jason and Wilson were gone. She sat on a couch, saying she hadn't known this would happen. Angel pointed out she had known something would. She said she knew the guys, and remembered their money smelled bad, and the guys were really jumpy at times, but in this town, many were fake, so she hadn't given much thought to it.**

"Which ended up being a big mistake", Giles sighed sadly. "In a town like that, everyone needs to be more careful."

**Angel asked if she'd family she could call, but Sarina said she didn't, and the guys had liked that, saying she had said the same about Cordelia. Angel asked where he could find them, but she bent forward and screamed and at the same time, Cordelia did too while Wesley lead her down the elevator and out of it, assuring all would be fine.**

"So they look for girls who don't have anyone in the city, and do their thing", Buffy said. "And they have been doing this for quite some time."

"Which means many girls have Demon babies because of a mistake they made", Xander sighed. "These people need to be beaten down by a real man."

"You?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, but anyone who is cool will do", Xander told her.

**He led her to Angel's bedroom, putting her on it as he put a blanket around her, and then Cordelia told him he was afraid of what was inside her, and said there were 7 of them, all talking to her at once. Wesley started saying how he knew this was difficult but she said he didn't know what it was like to be a partner in creation.**

"This is getting freaky now", Buffy said. "And 7? Urgghhh!"

"Clearly, this Demon's control is getting stronger", Tara told everyone.

**Cordelia whispered they weren't human, but Angel and Doyle weren't either, though he was half, and good. Wesley blotted her forehead with a handkerchief and she sank into the cushions, closing her eyes while Wesley pulled the blanket around her, and then he turned to see Angel in the bedroom, the two walking to the main apartment where Angel told him Sarina was a victim like Cordelia too. He flipped through a phone book, saying Wilson's rich buddies were in on it, and had impregnated many. Wesley then showed him the piece of paper with the 7 heartbeats. Angel realized someone was building an army.**

"So they are impregnating women with Demon spawn to build an army of Demons", Xander said.

"Which just made this even more urgent", Willow commented.

**Angel reached some yellow pages, telling Wesley that according to Sarina, Wilson and his rich buddies hung out at a private gun club called 'Guns and Cigars', so he would find them while Wesley would narrow down the species so they could terminate them without hurting Cordelia. Wesley pointed out a chance they couldn't, and Angel said in that case they would wait till birth, though Wesley pointed out she may not make it.**

"It shouldn't come to that!" Buffy said. "Just save her and get these Demon people down!"

"Yes, they should, but it's not that simple", Giles said with a sigh.

**They entered the kitchen area where Cordelia was gulping down blood, some dripping down her chin as Angel said he now realized how disgusting it was and asked Wesley to get her back to bed and order her a pizza. Cordelia put the now half-empty container back, wiped her mouth and walked past them, saying she was hungry.**

"So, if she was hungry, then why drink?" Xander said, that being the only response he could come up with.

And the others couldn't come up with much either.

Giles had to take off and wipe his glasses again.

"Cordelia…drank blood", Buffy said lamely.

"We saw", Dawn muttered.

"Unfortunately", Willow added.

"Which means this is getting worse", Tara said.

**Wilson was shooting a pistol at the gun club and took off his ear protection, turning around to see Angel there, and said that he shouldn't sneak up on people at such places as that's how accidents happened, dropping out a magazine and putting in an old one. Angel then mentioned he was Cordelia's friend, making Wilson say. "This is a private club. Featured word – 'private'." Angel countered. "You don't talk to me, I'll kick your ass. Featured word - 'ass'."**

"Even if he does, I think you should kick his ass", Willow said, an all nodded in agreement, waiting for the beat down.

**Wilson knew this was Angel and pointed the gun at him, saying Cordelia had told him all about him. Angel grabbed his gun hand, making him drop the gun, then twisted him around and wrapped one arm around his throat. "Yeah, well, somehow, I doubt that. Angel threw him against the wall. "You're human. Then you can't be the father." Wilson tried to get past Angel). "So you and your friends are just a link." He grabbed Wilson by the front of his shirt and pushed him up against a pillar. He asked Wilson how it worked.**

"So they aren't the Demons", Buffy said in realization.

"Whoever the Demon is, he gave some of his life force to these people, and they use it to impregnate women with his spawn", Giles summed up, horrifying everyone.

"So that's why these losers are so high in life", Xander snarled.

**Wilson wasn't going to talk as Angel hauled back and hit him with a hard right. Wilson hit back but Angel blocked and hit him again, kneed his stomach, and dropped him on the floor with a left hook. Then Wilson's friends arrived, commenting on how Angel wasn't playing nice, and Wilson got back up, saying he had no idea what he was dealing with.**

"Still so smug in spite of a beat down", Willow muttered.

"He has his buddies, but none of them know what they are dealing with either", Tara reminded, and now all looked forward to all of them being beaten up again.

**Wesley was comparing the ultra sound to engravings of Demons from one of Angel's books, but then he jumped when he looked to see Cordelia next to him.**

"This is getting creepier", Buffy said.

**Cordelia realized she was having the Demons from the book and took a look, Wesley asking her not to lose hope when she closed the book and slammed it on his head's side staggering him away before hitting him again as he dropped, saying no one could hurt her babies.**

"Looks like she completely under that thing's control now", Xander realized as everyone paled.

**At the gun club, Angel realized these people were proxies for the Demon who gave them his life force to impregnate women. Jason said they helped him date as he had trouble, and Angel said that's how they got all this to get ahead in life, by being procreative surrogates for a demonic entity, though Jason said he did it for the sex, and Wilson called this business.**

"Ruining lives is not a business", Giles snarled.

"You do it for the sex. Now when you get beaten up, you won't do it at all", Xander said.

**Angel asked where the Demon was while Jason pulled a gun from his sweater, Wilson telling Angel he was going to have an accident, and pushed him before catching Jason's gun and shot him 3 times in the chest, Angel doubling down.**

"Now they will all be beaten up", Dawn said excitedly, everyone just sitting back to enjoy the show.

**Their smirks disappeared when Angel straightened up in Vamp face and got up. "I really don't like it when people shoot me."**

"Kick their asses!" Xander said, surprised that he was cheering for Angel in Vamp face now, and he summed up what everyone was thinking.

**He kicked the gun out of Wilson's hands before kicking him down and tossed Jason away too before smacking another guy away and kicking the last one. He then beat down one who was getting up and as another attacked, he was thrown off. Another grabbed him from behind but Angel tossed him away too. Angel then beat up Jason again before kicking Wilson through a glass door. His face bled as Angel put his foot on his face and said. "Now you're gonna tell me what I need to know."**

"Still want to impregnate women for a Demon?" Willow asked as all had looks of satisfaction on their faces.

"Got what he deserved, though I'm sure if they weren't short on time, Angel would beat him up just for the hell of it", Buffy said, everyone imagining that, and it was satisfying too.

**Cordelia walked into a deserted warehouse with the other pregnant girls, looking at each other while their babies talked to them. Wesley pulled himself off the floor as Angel called him from a phone booth and picked up the phone, Angel telling him Wilson wasn't the father while digging bullets out of himself, and Wesley said it was a Hacksaw beast while also telling Angel that Cordelia had run off to rendezvous with it.**

"All of them have", Tara said.

"And it is not an easy one to kill", Giles said grimly.

**Angel knew they had gone to Miliken Industrial Park in Reseda as that's where Wilson and the rest had built their shrine, Cordelia knowing that due to a telepathic link with the unborn which it used to control her, so it was psychic umbilical cord. They needed to cut the cord by killing the Hacksaw, but Wesley then pointed out not much could kill it, so Angel asked if he could shoot straight.**

"So that's how it was controlling her", Buffy noted.

"They just need to kill it now, and looks like they need a gun of all things", Dawn said.

**The girls changed into white robes and were led by Cordelia into a big vat filled with a strange yellow-brown liquid, Wesley coming in as he begged the women to get out but they refused, saying they served their master. The ground shook with thundering footsteps as the Hacksaw arrived through a hole in the wall, angry at Wesley for trying to disturb the birth of his children.**

"He is big", Willow said lamely. "Very big."

"I can see that", Buffy muttered.

"How is a gun supposed to kill that?" Giles wondered.

"Maybe it's just part of the plan", Xander said.

**Wesley introduced himself and putting up his fists said he was here to fight him to the death, preferably the Demon's. The Hacksaw was amused as Wesley reminded him of David and Goliath and said it was relevant to this situation.**

"I really wish it is", Dawn said.

**The Hacksaw decided to battle while Wesley inched closer to it on the vat's rim, saying he wanted to know his opponents too, and inquired about hobbies, but the Hacksaw was annoyed when Angel rolled a gas tank down a ramp, drawing everyone's attention, while walking down it. "Sorry I'm late to the baby shower. Brought a little gift."**

"I think that's exactly the gift this shower needs", Buffy smirked, now realizing why a gun would be needed, even though she hated them.

**Angel picked up the tank, spun and threw it like a discus up at the Hacksaw, who caught it easily out of the air. A label 'Liquid Nitrogen' was on the front of the tank. Wesley pulled out a gun and shot a hole in the tank. The Hacksaw dropped the tank and a stream of liquid nitrogen shot out of the hole up at him. The demon screamed in the fog. The women in the vat screamed, their bellies slowly deflating. Wesley and Angel stared as the demon turned into a Popsicle. The girls stopped screaming. Cordelia looked around then walked up the steps out of the vat. She walked up to Wesley, who backed a couple steps away from her, then she grabbed a big pulley hanging on a rope and swung it into the Hacksaw demon, shattering its frozen body. "I really hate dating."**

"Join the club", Buffy said. "But great job shattering it, Cordy. You had your revenge."

"Well, the plan sure did work nicely", Willow said, everyone sighing in relief.

"Demon is dead, and Demon babies are gone", Dawn smiled. "Awesome."

"So, happy ending then", Giles sighed.

"Looks like it for sure", Tara agreed.

"Which is just what they deserve", Xander told them.

**Later, in the office, Wesley dusted Cordelia's desk and computer, the board above the coffee machine saying 'Welcome back, Cordelia', and Angel walked in, dropping some magazines on her desk as she liked those. Then Cordelia walked in as they greeted and complimented her, though Angel said it had been 2 days so she didn't need to come. Wesley agreed, saying he'd been helping out as he bent over the coffee machine, realizing someone had forgot to close the filter.**

Everyone chuckled.

"She came back in two days, she is even more of a badass than I thought", Buffy said. "And here I thought Slayers were stubborn."

"Cordy may not be a Slayer, but she is a hero too, and a badass one at that", Xander said with a smile, and everyone agreed with nods.

**Cordelia smiled, saying she was fine and had an audition too, saying the producer was nice and they were going out to dinner. The guys got a little concerned as she said. "He is so sweet. He says that all I have to do is let him impregnate me with his demon master's seed, and I've got the part. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the guys, who looked at each other then back at her. "Guys, I appreciate all the concern, but I'm okay. I mean, it was an ordeal, but I got through it, - and I'm a lot stronger than those loser demon surrogates thought."**

"That you are", Tara said, impressed, like the rest.

**Angel said he was seeing that as Cordelia said. "I learned something, too. I learned, uhm, - men are evil? Oh, wait, - I knew that. I learned that LA is full of self-serving phonies. No, - had that one down, too. Uh... sex is bad?" Angel said with a smile. "We all knew that."**

"Yeah", Buffy said with an uncomfortable groan.

**Then Cordelia said. "Okay. I learned that I have two people I trust absolutely with my life. - And that part's new." Wesley took a deep breath, then looked away dabbing his handkerchief at his eye. "Uh, some, uh – allergies." Cordelia smiled at Angel, who looked back at her trying not to laugh.**

"Awww", all the ladies went at the sweetness of the scene.

"I think Dennis should make that list too though", Dawn popped up.

"Yeah, he should be on there as well", Buffy nodded in agreement. "But at least they all have each other."

"That they do", Xander said. "This was last for the day, right?"

"Yeah, and I am getting hungry already, though no blood", Willow said as they all laughed.

"No one wants it", Tara agreed.

"Let's go then", Giles said as they got off and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done. The highlights of this episode were Angel beating down the jerks, Dennis comforting Cordelia (He is such a sweety! He is underrated, and sweet!) and Cordelia's little speech to Angel and Wesley at the end.
> 
> [1] Just a little jab at how most of the time the 'unattractive' and possibly nerdy outcasts are played by real hot and muscular people. I mean, Nicholas Brendon was good looking and pretty buff in the earlier Seasons too, like when we saw him in a speedo, so it's kind of hard to buy that a guy looking like that would be an outcast, even if he is a bit bumbling. It's not limited to Buffy though. Tom Welling's Clark Kent and Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker look really hot, so it's a wonder why they are outcasts. It's not just limited to guys though. No matter how nerdy you're gonna make Alyson Hannigan look, she's going to look hot enough to be a popular girl all over the school. The only time they have legit managed to make an attractive actress look less attractive and nerdy enough to be an outcast is Zendaya as MJ in the MCU Spider-Man films, but I'm not a fan of the MCU Spidey films or that MJ in general tbh.
> 
> [2] Is it just me or does Joss almost always portray sex as something negative in these shows? I mean, first we had the time when Angel turned into Angelus after his first time with Buffy, then this thing of Cordelia getting pregnant overnight just because she had casual sex, and even in Darla's case she got pregnant after sex and eventually had to stake herself for her baby to live, then the stuff in Season 4 *shutters* and even in the case of Willow/Tara, some people have said that Tara died just a little while after she and Willow were naked in bed together, as if it was punishment for having lesbian sex. While I don't fully buy the last one, I can see why people think that way. And killing Tara off was just unnecessary and cruel, especially since they were giving her a lot more to do in Season 6 outside of her relationship with Willow. But all the other cases I mentioned are 100% legit, so even the Tillow one, while I don't fully buy it, isn't completely unfounded. It's like Joss wants every female character he created to somehow face consequences for their sexual choices (other than Faith and Anya, since they were never involved in those kinds of cases specifically), and take them down a peg. And after the reveal last week, which I think had been building up to for a while, its not surprising that Joss treats his females like trash for one reason or the other, but at least they're still amazing characters in spite of it.
> 
> Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with Break III. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	16. Break III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scoobies have their third break during viewings and are given a small warning by their future selves about what's to come in next few recordings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.
> 
> Nothing special about this break, but I promise next break is gonna be something for sure, since it'll be coming right after 1x16.

The Scooby Gang arrived in the dining room once more, and at the same time their future selves walked in as well, the two staring at each other.

"Long day?" Buffy asked Summers.

"Yeah, you?" Summers asked.

"You can say that", Buffy shrugged as they all sat down to eat once more, the future people laying out some food for everyone to eat.

"After the latest one, good food is needed", Xander said as he started eating his food already.

"How far are you now?" Rosenberg asked.

"The one where Cordelia got pregnant with Demon babies", Tara said with a wince.

"Yeah, that one was horrible, poor Cordelia", Maclay said, nodding in some sympathy. "All of us have had hard lives, but in Cordelia's case, it was almost a little worse than everyone else."

"So, it's going to get even worse for her?" Dawnster asked in concern before remembering the recent events in LA. "Who am I kidding? It's going to get even worse for her. And we are probably going to watch it too."

"Yes, you are", Dawn said. "And well, it is going to get a lot worse before it gets even a little better."

"Worse than what recently happened?" Giles asked, referring to Team Angel's decision in present day.

"Oh this is nothing compared to what will happen next, G-Man, it will make this look like a cakewalk in comparison", Harris told them all, making them gulp and pale. "The events you see are just what lead to the really horrible mess. Of course the events leading up aren't pleasant either, they are pretty bad too, both to watch and experience."

"For some reason, I don't want to eat anymore", Xander said.

"Yeah, me neither", Willow said too.

"Except you need too, since you need to be at full strength and fully alert when you watch the recordings and notice things", Summers pointed out.

"Yeah, it's unfortunate", Willow sighed, eating her food again alongside Xander.

"Wesley is going to turn from the bumbling fool he is into an actual competent person then?" Giles then asked randomly.

"Oh you have no idea". Rosenberg said to him with a smirk.

"That good?" Tara asked.

"While you are our favorite Watcher, in coolness factor we all prefer Wesley", Summers said to him and Giles sputtered.

"How in the bloody Hell is that even possible?" Giles asked, making everyone chuckle at his reactions.

"So, when Wesley first came on his bike, did you get a Dante vibe before he was revealed?" Harris asked the past people.

"Yeah, we all did get 'em", Xander told him.

"Well then, imagine you're going to get a lot of Dante as well as Wolverine and even Angel vibes from him in the future, not because of how he presents himself, but because of how he is", Harris said, surprising them all.

"Now I really want to meet this Wesley", Dawn said, imagining the bumbling Wesley as a legitimate badass.

"So, you're saying he goes from thinking he is Sean Connery to actually being Sean Connery?" Giles asked, summing it up.

"Yeah, that about explains all of it", Summers said.

"Though even he had to take a horrible path to reach there", Rosenberg said with a wince, remembering certain events from the recordings of Year 3, it had been almost the most painful to watch due to how brutal it had gotten, but they had to see it too, before they could bring their past selves to do the same.

"Also, random question, do you think Penn looked like Hawkeye too?" Xander asked his future self.

"I know right? He just gave a Hawkeye vibe for some reason", Harris agreed with him.

"Yeah, if Hawkeye was an evil killer Vampire, then sure, he would be like Penn, probably even look the same", Maclay said, and no one could disagree with her assessment, since it was true for sure.

"Also, these guys who impregnated girls for the Hacksaw Beast, are there more of them?" Buffy asked.

"No, it was just one small cult, which Team Angel took down in the recording", Dawn assured as they all sighed in relief.

"Cordelia also has the visions now, they're going to have a horrible effect eventually, aren't they? She is a human, she can't take it", Tara pointed out.

"Yes, it will be horrible, but the way she took it, I was surprised, and impressed", Rosenberg said, since when Cordelia had seen visions all over the world and felt their pain, her resolve to help had gotten even stronger, while in her own case, when she had felt all the world's emotions, she had wanted to destroy it, though losing her Tara was also a factor there. Though if one only ever knew their high school selves, they would make the wrong assumption that Cordelia would want to destroy the world and Willow would want to help it, which would be the exact opposite of what had actually happened.

"Doyle also gave up his life, so soon, he was a true hero", Buffy said, all wincing and sighing sadly on remembering him. "We shall finish all of these in his honor, and change whatever we are supposed to change."

"Yes, he was a hero, though he isn't the only one you are supposed to honor, there are more, there are always many", Summers said grimly, and no one disagreed again.

"Anyway, I guess it is time for us to rest now", Giles said, the food having been finished. "What a day it was."

"Tomorrow will get even more intense", Dawn warned.

"In a good or bad way?" Dawnster asked her.

"Depends on your perspective", Summers said as she nodded. "Though one certain recording was hard for me to watch for reasons, and it will be for you too, Buffy."

Buffy wondered what her future self was talking about while nodding.

"Well then, we're done for the day", Rosenberg said as all got up and moved into their rooms to sleep for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're done here too. I can't wait to see the gang react to Wesley becoming a brooding badass and a lot of other stuff.
> 
> Next up is *groans* 'She', huh? Well, I don't hate it as much as others do (mostly), but it's nothing special eith- *Flashes to Angel dancing* HELL YEAH I'M EXCITED TO DO IT!
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	17. She

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch as Team Angel encounter the mysterious Jhiera. And of course Angel's dance moves make an impression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

The next morning, the routine of the Scooby Gang was similar as they ate breakfast with their future selves, had a little chit-chat, and then sat on the couch in the viewing room in the exact same order as the last 2 times.

"I am really hoping these ones aren't as brutal as the previous ones", Dawn said.

"So are we all, Dawnie", Buffy said as she started the recording.

**Cordelia was having a party at her place, with many people around including Wesley, who was dancing by himself.**

"He is lost in his own world", Willow said about Wesley as all chuckled.

"How does Cordelia know so many people though?" Xander asked randomly.

"Yeah, that's weird", Tara agreed.

**Cordelia greeted a guy called Diego and a woman called Laura, asking Diego to behave himself as he gave her a bag of ice. Wesley tried to put food in his mouth while dancing but dropped it.**

"He's so bad he's good", Dawn said and all laughed again.

**Cordelia walked to Angel who was standing aloof, asking if this was Hell for him, but he said how in Hell one knew a lot of people and that he was having a great time. Cordelia asked if she could get him blood but he was good, when she noticed Steve Paymer, who was David Paymer's brother. Angel just gave her a puzzled look as she walked off to greet him.**

"He goes out even less than I do", Giles said about Angel and they chuckled once more.

"So, you're cooler then", Buffy quipped.

**Angel saw Wesley trying to dance as he overbalanced one of his moves and fell down before getting back up, looking around, then pointing to Angel danced over to him, grabbing some ice and putting it on his head as he said he needed to cool off, while also saying Cordelia knew how to threw a party. He then ate a Mini-Reuben before suggesting that the two of them, brooding Demon Hunters, could chat with some ladies.**

"Wait about 2 years before using 'brooding' on yourself", Willow quipped.

"After seeing him dance, no one is going to talk to him", Xander said, drawing some more chuckles.

**A woman walked to them as Wesley choked a little on his Mini-Reuben and coughed while she complimented his sweater and asked if it was hand-knit. He said not by him while she said it was great, an Wesley said he'll pass it along to the one who made it, if he did, which he didn't, so he wouldn't pass it along to anyone, making the woman walk away with an 'oh'.**

"Well, someone did talk to him, but he blew it", Xander said.

"Here I thought I was out of touch", Giles muttered.

"We get it, you're cooler than him right now!" Buffy said, making him sigh as everyone laughed again.

**Cordelia ran to Diego, telling him to put on his pants while Laura talked to Angel, saying with her Masters Degree in Fine Arts she'd been able to sell sandwiches downtown from a little cart, making Angel chuckle. She said how she honed her eye, and then a different song came on, making her put down her drink.**

"He's pretty good at chatting", Tara noted.

"Yeah, he's going out more then", Buffy said. "Good, very good."

**Laura made some dance moves with a smile, saying she loved the song, and asked Angel if he wanted to dance too. There was a zoom into Angel's eye as he was shown dancing in his imagination. Angel waved his hands around with a funny expression at a trendy dance tune as Laura just stared with her mouth hanging open. He smiled as he waved his hands and body like that before joining his hands and doing a flowing wave motion while he spun around. He continued waving his hands and body and also clapped like a child with a smile on his face at the music. He then spun around, pointing his fingers at everyone around in a dancing motion, and continued waving his hands and body.**

Everyone had pretty much the same expression as Laura. Then everyone burst into hysterics, almost falling off the couch.

"Oh my God! He is worse than Wesley, and me!" Xander said, struggling to control himself.

"I am cooler than both of them combined!" Giles said in between hysterical laughter.

"He is so horrible at that, though if he did that he'd at least provide entertainment", Tara said with a laugh.

"Here I thought he was cool!" Willow said, still laughing.

"Maybe this is why he broke up with you before prom!" Dawn said with a laugh, making Buffy's eyes widen.

"Huh?!" Buffy said, trying to stifle her giggles. "It all makes sense now. This is the truth. And now that I remember, once the music turned trendy, he saw down and had drinks, he didn't dance."

"The truth is out!" Xander laughed. "Angel sucks at dancing."

"A bit too much", Tara said.

"I wanna watch it again!" Dawn said with puppy eyes, making Buffy sigh.

"Fine", she chuckled as she rewound a little.

**Angel waved his hands around with a funny expression at a trendy dance tune as Laura just stared with her mouth hanging open. He smiled as he waved his hands and body like that before joining his hands and doing a flowing wave motion while he spun around. He continued waving his hands and body and also clapped like a child with a smile on his face at the music. He then spun around, pointing his fingers at everyone around in a dancing motion, and continued waving his hands and body.**

Everyone laughed hysterically again, trying to control themselves, which was near impossible.

"This is never gonna get old", Willow said.

"Yes, but nightmares are upcoming", Xander muttered.

"Thank you, Buffy!" Dawn said, laughing again.

"No problem", Buffy said, laughing herself as the scene finally ended.

**Flash back to Angel's face as he said to Laura. "I don't dance."**

That drew chuckles again as Giles said. "Sure you don't."

**Laura walked off with a shrug as Angel went into the empty kitchen, leaning back against the doorframe as the chair moved out by itself. Angel sat down, greeting Dennis as a can of beer floated out of the bowl of ice on the kitchen table. Angel asked if he was still dead when the can popped open and slid into his hands, Angel taking a drink as he said he knew the feeling.**

"He is still a great friend", Buffy said about Dennis.

"Yes, model roommate", Willow agreed.

"We should have him over sometime", Tara joked, making all laugh.

**A guy picked an open can of beer out of a box filled with ice and took a drink. He looked at a coffin-like box. The label on the side said 'Danger – Hazardous material – Do not open.' He finished his beer as he walked out of the cooler through some strip of plastic. As he smashed the empty can he heard a strange noise coming from the direction of the cooler. It was coming from the coffin-like box. He picked up a crow bar and opened it. There was steam and light coming from it as he looked down into it. "Holy God."**

"And trouble is here finally", Dawn said as they all groaned.

"As expected", Xander added.

**Next morning, Angel walked into the office, greeting Cordelia as he asked about coffee but she said she only had the beans, suggesting Angel could crush the bag with his Vamp strength, telling him to mush, but Angel put the bag down with a grimace and said the party was fun, and she thanked him for coming before saying how he was like a black hole who had sucked all the energy, surprising him as she asked if he ever partied, and he said he had talked to Laura.**

"Then refused to dance with her", Willow reminded.

"Would you prefer it if he did?" Tara asked.

"No", Willow said lamely.

**Cordelia said Laura had thought he hated her so she'd told Laura he was challenged. Angel said he didn't hate her, he just had 2 modes with people- bite or avoid.**

"Oh really?" Buffy asked.

**Angel said he couldn't get too close with women as Cordelia started how Laura wouldn't throw him to the floor and tear off his clothes, before realizing she would.**

"Yeah, she was giving those kind of vibes", Dawn said.

"I knew it!" Xander said too.

**Angel said the reserved thing made him cool, and then Wesley arrived, greeting them as Cordelia said he was cooler, making Angel say he's depressed as Wesley said he was chipper now, complementing the party as Cordelia said he'd enjoyed it, but Angel protested he had too.**

"If he had actually danced, he wouldn't have", Buffy quipped as all laughed again.

**Wesley said how he'd enjoyed the food last night and asked if there were leftovers, Angel realizing he was broke, and offered him a job, Wesley immediately accepting. Angel said he didn't have much but as long as Wesley made himself useful, he was entitled to a cut. Wesley was near speechless as Cordelia wondered if she'd have to take a pay cut, but Angel shook his head, so she said now the three were a team. Wesley tried to hug Angel but he warded him off with a slight grimace.**

"Finally!" Buffy said as all smiled.

"So he still didn't ask for it, it had to be given to him", Giles commented.

"At least he got a job there, he can fit", Tara told everyone.

"Yeah, he already is", Dawn agreed.

"Go Wes", Xander said.

"So Team Angel is officially 3 members again", Willow said.

**Wesley assured he wouldn't disappoint and said there was something in his eye, making Angel give him his handkerchief when Cordelia had a vision as Angel caught her on her request. It flashed to the guy and the box from earlier. He screamed, his face blistered, then his eyeballs exploded as Cordelia recovered, saying she didn't just see but felt too, sarcastically thanking Doyle.**

"So time for a new job then", Willow said.

"Yeah, not the savory kind", Buffy muttered.

**Wesley noted down the address Cordelia gave while saying they were going to find a corpse, and Wesley later looked at a map, noting there won't be access via tunnels so Angel decided to drive, and Wesley wanted to go with him to earn his keep. Angel told him there was no dental so he said he'd floss.**

All chuckled.

**Cordelia held a glass of ice to her head, telling them to be careful as the thing that did it could still be there, and she'd only felt fear and exploding eyeballs, mentioning she hated the gig. Angel and Wesley walked out, assuring they'd be in touch. Wesley then drove Angel's car up to the Jerico Ice Factory. Wesley offered to go but Angel decided to go, so Wesley had to stay put and wait.**

"What could go wrong?" Xander asked sarcastically.

"Everything", Tara said.

**Angel found the burnt body, finding the wallet and his business card, which he took while keeping the wallet back, and walked into the cooler to see the open box which was half full of ice. Wesley was standing next to the car, fiddling with his ax while Angel turned as someone ran past on the other side of the plastic strips hanging in the doorway. Angel slowly walked out.**

"Oooh! So the thing is there", Willow said.

**A guy with a ridge of small spines running up the middle of his forehead reached for a crowbar. Angel put one foot on the bar. "Captain Inferno I presume?" The demon straightened up and Angel stepped on the piece of the crow bar sticking out over the edge of the box to flip it into his hand, and pushed it up against the other guy's chest. "Close enough. I don't do well near an open flame." He noticed a rip in the guy's sleeve and pushed it open using the crowbar to reveal burnt skin. "Only – you didn't burn him, did you?" He moved the crowbar back against the guy's chest. "Who are you? - - I'm not a big talker. I usually let others carry the conversation. I am pretty good at putting these", he motioned with the crowbar, "through heads though."**

"I think that is good enough conversation in the scenario", Giles said.

**The guy introduced himself as Tay and said he wasn't from this Dimension, having been sent here by his people to stop a Bringer of Chaos, calling it more than a mere Demon, a vessel of pure rage. It had almost destroyed his world and was now lose in this one. Angel asked how to kill it and Tay said he couldn't as it was stronger than one man, telling Angel to stay away.**

"Must be really powerful then", Buffy said, everyone interested to see just what this was.

**Angel later handed Wesley a drawing of Tay he'd made, telling him about the Demon as Wesley said it could be a Kovitch Demon from Caucasus. Angel pointed out Tay was from a different Dimension so portals would have been used. Cordelia was even more annoyed now due to portals as Wesley assured they'll figure it out, calling Angel boss. Cordelia told Wesley to stop kissing butt as they wouldn't get overtime but Angel looked at her, making her get on it.**

There were chuckles again as Giles said. "A Watcher calling a Vampire 'boss'. Something funny about that."

**Cordelia then checked to see other recent deaths by incineration before Angel could finish his sentence about it, and Angel decided to go to the victim's office since the guy was private security and Angel needed to know who had hired him.**

"That would be the first clue, yeah", Buffy said.

**Angel pulled up in front of a brick building, trying a door with 635 over it but it was locked so he walked to the side of the building, pulled out 2 grappling hooks and shot them over the edge of the building, walking to the side with their help. He jumped onto an open ladder beside an open window and scaled the roof.**

"And there they are again, so that he can show he is Vampire Batman", Xander said, all shaking their heads.

**Angel arrived in the office of Peter Wilker, who was the dead security guy. In a locked drawer he found a shipping order from Jerico Ice stuck in an envelope with a bunch of twenties. He put the money back but kept the invoice. He looked up as he heard a noise. The next moment he was sent flying across the room, smoke rising from a singed arm. There was a glimpse of a woman with a black tattoo crossing her left eye.**

"Now who is this?" Tara said, everyone tense suddenly.

"Is she the Chaos thing?" Dawn asked, but got no response, since the scene had just gotten intense.

**She asked why he was here, Angel asking her back as she asked how much he was paid to hunt them all. Angel straightened, saying he worked for himself and was here to look for the killer. He put his hand on the back of a chair, asking if she knew anyone who burnt people alive. She charged him and he picked up the chair to hold her off. She ducked underneath it and hit him in the chest, sending him crashing through the door.**

"She's really good", Buffy said, impressed by her skills, and the others were as well.

"Remind me never to get in her way", Xander said.

**She then got a call and after asking some questions, left, walking to a car parked beside the building. As she drove off Angel dropped down from the building behind the car and then tailed her in his own car, dialing a number but the call didn't go. He tried again when the low battery alarm went off, making him fumble for a cable, plugging the phone into the cigarette lighter with it as he almost ran into another car, making a last minute right to follow her.**

"Don't look away from the road", Willow warned from her own experience.

**At AI, the phone rang as Cordelia picked up, Angel saying he hated the cellphone she'd given him. Cordelia then said there had been 4 similar killings in the last 11 months, all guys burnt from the inside out, Angel telling her the 'it' was a 'she'. Cordelia then asked if she had 'Carrie' the movie him, but Angel couldn't hear her, before coming back on, and asked her and Wesley to find Tay as he knew a lot more than he was telling while this woman was on a mission. Wesley then did a circular motion on his face as Cordelia asked for a description which he gave, saying she was attractive for a Demon as Cordelia called her a hottie.**

"Jealous much?" Tara asked as everyone chuckled.

**Eventually, there was interference in the call so Angel cut it and threw his phone in the backseat. The woman parked her car next to a museum like place as Angel tailed her. She walked to a security guard, saying a man wanted to hurt her, and then pointed out Angel. The guard walked after him, tapping into his com-link while Angel took off his coat and paralleled the woman through the crowd. 3 security people came out the door, almost running into her as Angel saw them almost upon him, so he pointed at a picture hanging next to him and started playing tour guide, explaining it.**

"Think he can do it?" Dawn asked.

"He is a very old Vampire, I am sure he would have been around when the painting was first made", Giles said.

**The woman walked through a dimly lit corridor, walking into a room with Art Restoration on the door and looked at a row of windows. Angel was pointing at the painting as the security people searched for him, describing the poet in the painting Baudelaire who had written a poem speculated to be about a real Vampire, and laughed, while saying he was also a little taller and drunker than depicted here. He then saw the officers moving off and walked off through the door the woman had gone through as the people in front of the painting applauded him.**

"Well played", Buffy said, everyone impressed again.

"So he knew the poet then", Willow realized.

"Knowledge always comes in handy", Tara said.

**At the office, Cordelia was asleep on the desk, an open stack of books nearby as Wesley exclaimed on seeing a book, jerking her awake, saying he had located the people- they were Vigories of Oden Tal, having 4 distinct ridges on their foreheads and were said to be fierce warriors, women being enslaved to them as Cordelia hit his arm in congratulations, asking if they could track them. Wesley said they were herbivores and ate a thick stew made from rotting plants and flowers, and needed to consume half their body weight in a day, Cordelia realizing they were looking for the biggest compost heap in LA.**

"So, they enslave their women?" Dawn asked, everyone feeling chilled on hearing that.

"Which means they are up to no good either", Buffy snarled.

"And consuming half the body weight? No one here can do that", Willow said.

"Even if we could, we wouldn't", Xander said.

**The woman stood with her hand held out when Angel arrived, her being surprised that he was up, and realized he was a Vampire. Angel asked about Tay and who had killed the guy at the ice factory if not her, saying he couldn't allow tourists to torch locals. She looked at the windows and then at Angel, warning him to leave. Then a circular distortion formed in the air in front of a window. A bright light emanated from it as they looked over at it, and the woman held out her hands as a naked girl fell out. She crouched over the girl, telling Angel to stay back. He pulled a wall-hanging down and over the naked girl, asking what they were running from but the woman wasn't interested in his help.**

"You are alone, have someone to take care of, and being followed, you need a lot of help", Tara said.

"She is just too proud to admit it", Giles told them all.

"So they said right. Pride does lead to fall", Buffy said.

**The door opened as Tay arrived with more of his kind. He told Angel this wasn't his concern. "If you know what's good for you, you won't..." Angel kicked his face. "Do that?"**

"Fight begins", Willow said.

**The others attacked as Angel dodged their blows, the woman sending one flying off. Angel beat one up and kicked him away as the woman sent two more flying off, but Tay and two other guts hurried the naked girl out the back door and pulled away in their car as the fight finished, the woman saying she'd be unmade.**

"Unmade?" Xander asked as all gulped. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"Maybe", Buffy said. "They did say they enslave the women."

"The bastards", Giles snarled.

**Tay's goons dragged the screaming girl through a flour warehouse, begging to let her go, but Tay wasn't concerned, calling her 'it', and they lead her to the backroom. Another guy handed Tay a pair of strange pliers and he got ready to clip off the ridges protruding along her neck and upper back. She protested as he said she'd feel better after this, then clipped off the first ridge as she screamed.**

Everyone cringed at the painful scene, finding it very disturbing and macabre.

"What in the world?" Willow said out loud.

"They are cutting out those ridges in the back? Why?" Buffy wondered.

"So this is the unmaking thing", Xander said grimly.

**In Angel's office in daylight, the woman took off her coat and looked around, Angel telling her to dress her wound. The woman said she thought Vampires were killers, and Angel said he'd been cursed. The woman asked if he was cursed to help people, and Angel said gypsies had a weird sense of humor, laying a napkin and some bandages on the chair between them, as she applied a bandage to her wound.**

"Cursed to help people", Tara said. "Helping people isn't a curse. But the way he was sent to it was one."

"Especially with the happiness clause", Buffy said. "I mean, the gypsies were pretty stupid to add it."

"I know right? Like, imagine if Angel is watching football, a team he loves wins, and he suddenly gets perfectly happy, then Angelus is back", Xander said. "Granted football wasn't a popular thing when he was cursed, but the point stands."

"Football started about a few decades before Angel was cursed, but yeah, your point is right", Willow agreed. "So the gypsies were stupid. The ones that cursed him back then that is. I couldn't figure out a way to remove the happiness clause, unfortunately."

**The woman said the girl was a runaway she was trying to help but Angel had distracted them, though Angel pointed out without his help both would be captured. Angel asked why the girl was running, the woman repeating she would be unmade, which was in a sense killing her. Angel asked her to explain so she said in Oden Tal, the personality and passions were in an area of body called the Ko. She put her hands up on her shoulders, took a step closer and turned around to show him the ridges on her upper back and neck. Angel leaned in closer, realizing they wanted to take it.**

"So what I originally said was right in a way", Xander realized, making all gulp again. This was clearly Oden Tal's version of Female Genital Mutilation.

"Those sick people", Buffy snarled, clutching her fists in righteous anger, speaking for everyone.

**The woman turned to face him, saying they wanted to take this Ko from the women, as when they came of age it controlled their physical and sexual power. It even signaled when they were aroused and found a desirable mate, but without it they were more easily controlled. She looked at him and circled him, saying they married as commanded, served without questioning. "We leave behind dreaming."**

"There is no worse way to live", Tara said sadly, all feeling their anger, disgust and sympathy rise.

"How would they feel if someone takes away theirs?" Xander asked randomly.

"I would love to find out", Dawn said with a dark look in her eyes, the same one she had when she threatened to burn Spike in his sleep.

**Angel said she had escaped and she said she was the first, introducing herself as Jhiera of Oden Tal. Her family ruled the dimension, and Angel realized they weren't on good terms with her due to her actions. Jhiera said they told people she was dead, but the women knew, and here they all had a chance, they came to this world in a fever. Angel then realized the importance of ice. Jhiera told her story, saying she had almost died from the heat under her skin, and some men had responded to the Ko involuntarily, trying to force themselves on her, so she had to go in frozen water till it passed and she learnt to control her power. During this time, she had come close to Angel, her ridges glowing a fiery red before she sat down on the chair.**

"So her own family doesn't want her to be free either, horrible people", Buffy said.

"I can relate", Tara pointed out with a sad sigh, sympathizing with Jhiera, whose situation was like her own, but even worse.

"Looks like the Ko is affecting Angel", Dawn pointed out.

**Angel remembered her burning him as she said she'd thought him to be her enemy. Angel asked about the guard and she said he'd tried to touch one of her girls so it was his fault. Angel said he hadn't meant to hurt her but Jhiera said she hadn't meant to kill him so it was accidental. Angel pointed out about the other 4 guys who'd died this way, saying she couldn't go around hurting men in his dimension. Jhiera said she had promised to protect the women in her dimension so a few had to die, but Angel said they were his people who died and he'd promised to protect them. Jhiera asked him to tell them to stay out of her way and started walking out when Angel cut her off.**

"Easier said than done, Jhiera", Buffy said.

"What is happening to the women in her world is horrible, but it doesn't justify killing the men here", Willow agreed.

"So they need to be saved and kicked out of this dimension as soon as possible", Xander summed up.

**Jhiera held her left hand inches away from his chest. It was glowing a fiery red. She was breathing hard. She leaned her head against him for a moment then moved back, lowering her hand, and straightened up. She told him she didn't need his help and walked out, leaving him standing.**

"He resisted it a bit better than most would", Giles noted.

"Maybe it's because he's a Vamp", Buffy said.

**Wesley and Cordelia were in the California Flower Mart, the two arguing and messing around a little before sneaking into the dimly lit back room, Cordelia commenting it smelled like flower poop as they heard Tay speak, ducking behind some barrels. Tay said the portal would open soon and they needed to go with the girl they had gotten called Gi, Tay calling her 'it' and asking if it was happy to go home, and Gi obediently said she was, even agreeing she felt better now. There were open wounds where her spine ridges used to be.**

Everyone clutched their fists, shaking in pure, righteous rage.

**A Vigory told Tay they had gotten 2 this month while Tay said they needed to find Jhiera and during this time, Cordelia frantically pulled on Wesley's shirt to make him get down as well. At a Palm Ridge Spa, a guy was contemplating a Japanese sand garden when Jhiera arrived, asking about the girls as he led her to a room where several scantily clad girls lay on steaming beds of ice, the guy assuring they were fine as Jhiera said they'd taken the girl she'd wanted, bumming the guy out. The guy then told her the girls weren't ready and said his shaman in the desert could help, Jhiera saying she'd go to him if he was as trustworthy as him, so he agreed to call him as Jhiera applied ice on herself.**

"Well, at least she has someone who is helping her cause", Buffy said.

"Yeah, but it's about to get ugly", Willow said grimly.

**Wesley and Cordelia hid behind the barrels as the Vigories talked, Wesley holding his cell phone and telling Cordelia there was no answer as she said he'd probably forgotten to turn it on, making a sarcastic quip while they head, and Tay was informed by a Vigory that Jhiera and the rest had been found, so they decided to gather and get them.**

"Now they need to work quickly", Dawn said.

**Cordelia and Wesley later ran down the stairs to Angel's apartment, and he was wearing his pants, toweling off his hair, to Cordelia's agitation as he said he had to take a shower, asking about the situation, which Cordelia told him. Angel put on his sweater, saying they needed to find her first, while Cordelia also mentioned the ice delivery, and Angel pulled a paper out of his coat, having an address, the plan being he'd hit people. They headed out, Angel putting on his coat.**

"I think they need a bit more to the plan than that", Tara said.

**At night, Angel drove to the Spa with Wesley on the backseat, asking him to wait as he needed a warning when the Demons arrived, Wesley agreeing. He jumped to the passenger side door but his foot got caught so he tumbled indignantly, to Cordelia's annoyance as he popped up with a grimace.**

Everyone laughed a little again.

**Angel walked inside, meeting the guy and getting to business, though he didn't tell where Jhiera was, but Angel grabbed him by the lapels, saying the men were coming for her. The guy inquired which Dimension he was from but Angel told him he didn't want to know, so the guy motioned with his head as Angel walked off, walking to the room as he met Jhiera, telling her the men were on their way already. Cordelia and Wesley then ran into the room, saying they were here. Angel told Wesley to get the girls out, asked the spa guy to stall them, and told Jhiera he'd help her.**

"You do need it, lady", Buffy said.

**Wesley started leading the girls out, affected by their beauty so Cordelia had to kick him. The spa guy tried to distract Tay but was knocked out. The Vigories moved to the empty tub room when Angel swung down from the ceiling and kicked 2 in the face. Jhiera dropped down too, using her powers to send two flying as Angel battled two of them one by one and beat them down. They continued battling while Wesley and Cordelia were laying the girls in ice boxes, though Wesley was still affected and propositioned one girl, making Cordelia call him pathetic as she sent the girl into ice.**

"Too bad he isn't resistant", Willow muttered.

**Angel rolled and kicked another away before beating more down as Jhiera sent more flying off. Wesley and Cordelia arrived, trying to fight, but were easily taken hostage, making Angel and Jhiera stop. Tay threatened their lives for the women but Jhiera was unconcerned, walking off.**

"Seriously?" Dawn said, now all angry at Jhiera.

"As much as I understand her situation, at least she can show some gratitude", Buffy muttered.

"Guess the war mentality got into her head a little too much", Xander said.

**Cordelia and Wesley elbowed their captors, freeing themselves as Angel fired his grapple hook in a spin motion, sending another down.**

"That was cool!" Willow said excitedly, all nodding.

**Wesley took some down too with Angel as the Vigories ran after Jhiera, who walked to the truck where the girls were loaded in the back, but a Vigory grabbed her, restraining her hands as Tay arrived with the pliers, about to cut her top ridge when Angel wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him off of her.**

All sighed in relief as Tara said. "Now they will get theirs."

**Angel told them to let Jhiera go if they wanted Tay alive, so they did as she went into the truck and drove off on Angel's command. When she was far enough, Angel pushed Tay into the others and told them to not bring this war here. Tay insisted their society would crumble if this enemy persisted but Angel warned if they did this on his turf, they would have another enemy.**

"The only enemy to society is you", Giles said to Tay, speaking for everyone.

" **You don't understand our ways, human", Tay said. "No, I don't", Angel morphed into Vamp face. "And I'm not human. - Now, if I were you, I'd grab the next portal out of here. Got it?" They left without a word.**

"Now that was satisfying", Dawn said. "Though I wish they got worse."

"Not all get what they deserve", Buffy sighed sadly.

**Next morning, Angel tried to crush the beans in his office but spilled them as Wesley and Cordelia arrived, Wesley slipping on them and landing on his butt, Cordelia commenting mushing didn't work out so great.**

"Doesn't look like it", Willow said as they all laughed.

**Wesley said it was his fault as he started sweeping them with his hands, Angel telling him to stop as Cordelia told him he didn't need to grovel, and Wesley said he didn't do it before asking Angel not to fire him, as he was rarely taken hostage, Angel assuring he wasn't fired, telling him it wasn't his fault and that he had handled himself well, Wesley calling himself Angel's faithful servant.**

There was some more laughter as Giles then asked. "Never taken hostage, huh?"

"I remember", Buffy said, and there were more chuckles.

**Then Jhiera arrived as Cordelia sarcastically said she could get her a knife to make her run away, and then she walked off as Angel told her to come in. They walked to his office as Jhiera said the girls were safe, and Angel reprimanded her for nearly getting Wesley and Cordelia killed, but she said she had no choice. Angel said if she wanted to protect innocents, dimensions shouldn't matter, and Jhiera turned away with a sigh, saying it was an easy sentiment when everyone was free. Angel told her she could fight but he'd stop her if she crossed the line. Jhiera said she'd do what she thought right, and Angel would do the same. They understood each other now before Jhiera walked off, Angel seeing the ridges above her jacket which were glowing a bright, fiery red.**

"Well, so ends another adventure for them", Xander said. "And it went mostly well, as well as expected."

"Yeah, though I hope this dimensional war didn't get too bad", Buffy muttered. "And I really hope Tay and the rest get theirs one day."

"Maybe they will", Willow pointed out.

"It's not finished yet", Tara pointed about the recording.

"What more could be there?" Dawn wondered as they watched.

**Angel was shown dancing happily to the music, waving himself hysterically with Laura watching while Wesley also shook and put food in his mouth. The two continued like that, Angel making a funny face as he did a wave motion while Wesley rocked back and forth. Angel waved even more hysterically as Wesley rocked too, and then pushed himself into a crowd as Angel clapped like a happy child, the screen going black.**

Everyone was in hysterics again, trying not to fall off the couch.

"This was a much needed gift!" Xander said happily.

"For all of us", Dawn added.

"So Angel was imagining a dance-off with Wesley then", Tara realized.

"Wesley won!" Willow said firmly.

"No arguments from me", Buffy said.

"Me neither", Giles said.

Dawn started. "Can we wa-"

"Hell yeah!" Buffy said, rewinding again.

**Angel was shown dancing happily to the music, waving himself hysterically with Laura watching while Wesley also shook and put food in his mouth. The two continued like that, Angel making a funny face as he did a wave motion while Wesley rocked back and forth. Angel waved even more hysterically as Wesley rocked too, and then pushed himself into a crowd as Angel clapped like a happy child, the screen going black.**

They were in hysterics again as Giles said. "So Wesley is cooler than Angel then, in this case."

"Poor Angel", Buffy muttered.

"Thanks", Dawn said again with a smile.

"Now, with all the laughing done, I think we can move forward", Willow said.

"Yep, time for it", Xander nodded.

"Yes, let's go, and hopefully that has some dancing too", Tara said as they laughed again.

"Yeah, let's go", Buffy said as they came to the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The previous episode and this one weren't very subtle about casual sex being bad and FGM respectively, but this one had Angel dancing! And then a dance-off between him and Wesley! AHAHAHAHAHA!
> 
> And Bai Ling as Jhiera did make an impression IMO. She deserved to be in a better-written episode than this crappy one, worst one of this Season for sure.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


	18. I've Got You Under My Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Scooby Gang watch Team Angel try to help a family where the boy is possessed by an Ethros Demon but what happens is completely unexpected. Wesley's issues with his father are also noticed for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
> 
> Thank you to everyone for the kudos, hits, comments and bookmarks.

"I am really hoping this one is more subtle than the previous two over what they were telling", Willow muttered.

"You're not the only one", Buffy said as the recording started.

**Angel inspected a knife laid down by Wesley on the table, noting the Mark of Kefkadlorem, and put it down, Wesley pointing out it could kill a Kek Demon but Angel said they were extinct. Wesley sank in the chair in Angel's front and said some might be in hibernation, and then the timer buzzed as Cordelia brought in pan of brownies, taking about how she had gotten and modified the recipes while saying Angel wouldn't have them since they didn't have red blood cells.**

Everyone chuckled as Tara said. "He can still enjoy it."

"And Wesley does have a point about the Kek Demons, some might still be around", Giles muttered grimly.

"Yep, extinct doesn't mean gone", Xander agreed.

**Wesley commented Angel was more of a drinker than eater as Cordelia ended up using the knife to cut the brownies, making both Angel and Wesley stop her as it was ancient and could have a corrosive effect, and then Wesley and Cordelia got into a minor argument as Angel stopped them but accidentally addressed Wesley as Doyle instead, before apologizing and calling him Wesley, and left the kitchen as Cordelia sat down with a sigh.**

Doyle's name made them all wince again sadly, since his loss was still fresh, and not too long ago.

"They're still not fully over him, and never will be", Tara said.

**In a house with a white picket fence, a boy called Ryan and a girl called Stephanie fought, Ryan accusing her of taking one of his cards till Stephanie called their mom who said that some children in India only had 3 cards so they needed to go to bed, and the dad agreed too. The mother called Paige later tucked Stephanie into the bed and then watched Ryan's door padlocked shut, while the dad proceeded to do the same to Stephanie's door.**

"Now why could they be doing that?" Dawn asked.

"Something wrong with them, it seems", Giles said. "Very wrong."

"The parents or the kids?" Buffy asked.

"I do not know yet", Giles told her.

**Cordelia walked to Angel's office, reminding he had called Wesley as 'Doyle', and Angel hoped Wesley was okay with it, but Cordelia pointed out Angel had not said his name for a long time, which Angel denied, but Cordelia assured he didn't need to have an unflappable vibe about all this, not with her, and when Angel denied his unflappability, she told him to flap.**

"Yeah, I just noticed, after the 10th one, Angel hasn't been mentioning Doyle", Willow said in realization.

"It hurts him a lot more than he admits", Buffy said sadly.

**Angel said he missed Doyle, and Cordelia did too, Angel pointing out he'd seen death and killed people, and Cordelia said he was dead too but his look made her apologize. Angel was still blaming himself as Cordelia told him not to but then she held her head as she got a vision, Angel holding her. Cordelia had a vision of the two children and the father.**

"So there is something really wrong, since she had a vision", Dawn noted.

"Let's see what it is", Buffy sighed.

**Angel and Wesley drove to the house and saw Ryan walking to the street in his pajamas, about to be run over by a car. Angel jumped out, running across the street and tackled the boy off the street just in time, Ryan seeing his bleeding shoulder and asking if he'd cry, but Angel said he wouldn't, joking with him.**

"So his door was locked, but he still got out by a window or something. Why would that be?" Giles wondered.

**Then Ryan's dad ran out, grabbing him and telling him to thank Angel and come inside. Then Paige came out too, concerned as she hugged Ryan and also thanked Angel, as well as the dad, and they asked him to come inside due to his bleeding shoulder. Angel followed after a look at the dad and walked in, the dad at the rear.**

"Maybe something's up with him, and Ryan was trying to run from that", Tara suggested.

"That's what it looks like so far, but remember, we were made to think that Wesley is already a badass Demon Hunter, and that Angel is committing murders again", Willow reminded. "So it can be anything."

"You make a good point", Xander agreed.

**Paige later cleaned Angel's cut as he assured he didn't bleed much, and Paige said they' just moved in. The dad arrived, saying Ryan was asleep while Angel said he seemed nice. Paige then thanked Angel again and said they could pay him money or her husband Seth who was an investor could advise him but Angel wasn't interested, Seth saying Angel probably just wanted to go home and clean up.**

"Kind of eager to get Angel out, isn't he?" Dawn asked.

**Angel asked how Ryan had gone out, and Seth and Paige said he could have climbed out the window due to being able to fit in between burglar bars. Angel asked where he could be going, and Seth said nowhere, so Angel said he could be trying to get away from something, but Seth said there was nothing like that in the house.**

"Well, there is you, at least it looks like you so far", Buffy said.

"Or, it may be something else too", Willow shrugged.

"Yeah", Buffy nodded.

**Wesley looked at a trashcan near the house, poking it with a stick as a doll said 'mom', making Wesley jump and drop his flashlight, and when he bent down to pick it up, he noticed it illuminating streaks of yellow slime all over the foundation.**

"Plakticine", Giles noted.

"Someone in the house is possessed?" Buffy asked and he nodded.

"Maybe all of them are innocent then, and the father just happens to be possessed", Xander said.

"Yeah, could be it", Dawn said. "I hope it is, and then the Demon will be taken out."

**Seth lighted a cigarette which didn't bother Angel, who was about to inquire some more when Paige returned with bandages but saw that the wound wasn't too bad now, and Angel said it was just a scratch. Paige then said they used to live in Akron and Seth asked his name, Angel introducing himself as 'Angel Jones'.**

"Surname, always makes it less suspicious", Tara said.

**Paige pulled out 2 ceramic angels, showing them to Angel as she said she thought they were around them all the time, and tonight he had been their Angel, though Angel was humble about it. Angel decided to go and Paige invited him to dinner the next night, which Seth was against but Angel agreed, saying he'd bring something. Seth didn't say a word while Paige smiled.**

"Yeah, he was like their Angel this time", Dawn smiled.

"And now he's coming back the next day, and then they can figure something out", Buffy said.

**Angel walked to the car, Wesley sitting next to him as Angel said the wife wanted to talk but the husband kept cutting her off, and Wesley showed him the Plakticine, Angel also realizing someone was possessed in the house. They drove away as Stephanie watched them drive away from a window.**

"With all of them behaving this weird, it's hard to tell who's possessed", Willow commented.

**Later, in the office, Wesley closed the blinds as Angel came in, Cordelia hanging up the phone as she said Paige was truthful about Akron. Angel looked at the vial as Cordelia said that there had been disturbances and strange stuff wherever they had gone, including animal death and a friend of the family going missing permanently.**

"So it has been going on for a very long time then", Willow said. "And they are too afraid to do a thing."

**Cordelia then picked up the vial, calling it pretty when Wesley called it the excretion of an Ethros Demon, making her put it down.**

Everyone chuckled at that.

**Wesley and Cordelia then talked about it, Wesley reminding Cordelia of Lizzie Borden, and said she had been possessed by an Ethros Demon, and Angel said it was an adolescent while this one would be adult, so they needed to evict it.**

"Lizzie Borden was possessed?" Xander asked.

"As a matter of fact, she was", Giles said.

"You learn something new every day", Xander commented.

**Wesley said they could do an exorcism, though not many priests did it nowadays, and Cordelia asked who the Demon was. Angel said the father seemed off, but Wesley started that a father didn't need to be possessed to terrorize his children, before stopping and then suggested a powder to make the Demon reveal itself.**

Everyone noted Wesley's comments on his father and his abrupt stop.

"Everything about him makes so much more sense now", Xander said, sympathizing with him.

"Yeah, now that I think of it, it does", Buffy said.

"Especially his exaggerated nature", Dawn piped up.

"Which would be a cover for his insecurities", Willow pointed out.

"So he's another one then", Tara sighed.

"Welcome to the club", Xander said grimly, now noting another person who had parental issues, specifically daddy issues, which all of them had here except Giles. They wished no one had any parental issues, but things happened, sadly.

**Cordelia asked if it'd make the head spin, and Wesley said it would and next night Angel went to the house, holding a plate covered with plastic wrap where he had brownies, and later he sat with the family around the table, as Paige went off to clear the plates, and Ryan said he didn't like the Brussel sprouts. Angel thought Stephanie liked it but she'd hidden one under her napkin, making him laugh as he said he'd hidden one in his mashed potatoes, and the kids laughed when Paige returned with Angel's brownies, and soon all of the family ate it, Seth last. He then suddenly began to choke while Stephanie screamed staring at Ryan who was growling with a demonic face, his head jerking around before he dropped on the table.**

"So he is the possessed one", Buffy said grimly, all watching, tense.

"Demon is revealed, exorcism is needed now", Giles muttered.

**Paige hugged him as Angel said he was possessed, while Stephanie argued he'd always been bad and went away. Angel then said he'd made the Demon show itself, making Paige accuse him of doing this to Ryan, but to everyone's surprise, Seth came to Angel's defense, saying something had always been wrong with Ryan, and asked Angel what he needed to help his son, and he said a phone.**

"Okay, that was unexpected", Willow said, voicing everyone's surprise.

"Looks like we judged the dad wrong", Buffy noted.

"Like Willow said, these recordings are designed to surprise", Tara pointed out.

"Yeah, that they are", Xander nodded.

**Paige was then huddled on a sofa with Ryan as Seth stroked his head, while Angel informed Wesley of the development, and Wesley said the priest was having trouble running to the ground, so Angel said they would contain it till they got the priest. Angel then turned to Seth, inquiring about the others' well-being, and Seth said for 3 years he has done his best to hold the family together, and now Angel was telling him there was a reason for all the terror and confusion with a way to end it, so he was an Angel then.**

"Drastic change", Giles commented.

"Or maybe we were just seeing him wrong before", Dawn said.

**Angel told Seth to have someone watch Stephanie as they were all coming with him, and Wesley later carried Ryan to Angel's bed, Angel introducing him and Cordelia as his assistants. Wesley covered Ryan in a blanket while Cordelia picked a glass bottle and drew a circle around the bed with the yellow sand inside, asking if vomiting was expected since she'd seen the film.**

"Oh I have seen it too!" Willow said.

"It was surprisingly accurate about exorcism", Giles said. "Which is why it a great movie."

**Everyone's looks made Cordelia go back to her work as Wesley said the binding power would control the Demon while he and Angel looked for the priest, but Paige was still in denial, making Angel tell her that deep down she did know the truth. Wesley said Cordelia would stay with them and Angel warned to not break the circle, Cordelia making a sarcastic quip as the two left while Seth and Paige tried to comfort one another.**

"Now really hoping no one disturbs it", Tara said.

**Angel and Wesley arrived in a church, Angel trailing behind as he looked at a crucifix above the altar while a nun prayed, and Wesley managed to get the nun's attention as Angel leaned against the pew, looking at the crucifix. The nun immediately knew what Angel was, as he assured he wasn't what she thought so she brushed the cross on her rosary against his hand, making him pull away as he said he was but was trying to help a child possessed by an Ethros Demon, Wesley saying they needed Father Fredericks soon.**

"Okay, that was rude", Dawn said about the nun brushing the cross against Angel.

"Well, look at it this way, we have had only two ensouled Vampires like ever, and at that point, he was the only one, so it's not like everyone knows about it", Xander pointed out, and Dawn nodded, conceding.

**The nun said he was out behind the church….in a grave. The nun revealed that 6 months ago Father Fredericks had saved a family's daughter from an Ethros Demon possessing her, but hadn't been able to save himself, so her prayers were with the two, but the Ethros was smart, and even more dangerous than Angel.**

"So it killed the priest too? Damn!" Buffy said. "These Ethros are like, not to be messed with are they?"

"Especially when possessing someone", Tara said.

"The parallels with the movie are unnerving", Giles said, referring to the death of Karras from 'The Exorcist' after he had wrestled Pazuzu from Regan, though he had chosen to die to save Regan, while this Fredericks had clearly been murdered.

**Ryan sat on Angel's bed, calling out to his mom while Paige sat at the kitchen table with Seth, Cordelia pouring them tea. Paige said she wanted to give him his toys but Seth reminded it was dangerous. Paige said they were pretending all was well pretty nicely this time, but Seth reminded her of Uncle Frank's death in a fire in Ohio, though Paige protested with a sob that it was an accident. Ryan kept calling out but Seth prevented her from going to him, and she reluctantly agreed while Cordelia assured Angel and Wesley would save him.**

"Can they do an exorcism?" Dawn asked.

"Even if they can, this is too dangerous", Willow pointed out.

**Wesley filled a glass bottle with water from the baptism fountain, Angel pointing out he couldn't do it due to the mental strength required, but Wesley they had the supplies and he knew the procedure, but Angel pointed out he didn't even have sales resistance and that an expert like Frederick had been killed. Wesley ended up tossing Angel a cross, telling him to do it as he caught it and then tossed it due to it burning his hand, and so Angel reluctantly agreed to let Wesley do it while he'd be with him.**

"So Wesley has the knowledge but no experience and is not very resistant, while Angel is but can't do it", Buffy sighed. "No good options."

"But at least they have a choice", Tara pointed out.

"Yes, they don't have a good choice, but they have a choice", Buffy agreed.

**Paige was standing on the door with Seth as Cordelia tried to pull away, and Ryan was huddled in the blanket, wearing his grey Demon face, and then he asked for help in an innocent voice. He then growled and tossed in the bed as Paige strained to go to him but Cordelia and Seth stopped her, and then Angel and Wesley walked upstairs, Wesley saying the priest would have been killed because the Ethros tried to possess his body after the daughter had been freed, and that was a problem.**

"I had a feeling that had happened", Giles said.

**The two heard the commotion as Cordelia and Seth tried to hold Paige back, and then they saw the elevator come down, and taking advantage of the distraction, Paige ran to Ryan, the door slamming shut and not opening.**

"And then that happened", Xander said as they all groaned, while also terrified for Paige.

**Ryan stroked Paige's hair as she leaned to him, saying he was glad she'd come before choking her just as Cordelia and Seth managed to open the doors and Seth tried to free Paige from Ryan's grip. Angel and Wesley then finally arrived as Wesley held a cross to Ryan's face and Angel helped Seth pull Paige away. Wesley chanted as Ryan screamed and fell back on bed, Seth cradling Paige. Angel and Wesley realized the Ethros was deeper now, and then told Paige to do exactly what he said, and she nodded.**

"Well, at least she understands now", Dawn said.

"But the Ethros is even deeper in", Willow said grimly.

**Wesley redrew the circle with the yellow powder. Angel came in, handed him a little black book then slowly backed out and closed the doors. Seth was sitting on the edge of the daybed, where Paige was drinking a cup of tea. Angel walked up behind Cordelia, who was sitting on the sofa looking through a book. Cordelia pointed out an Ethros Box in the book, saying the Demon got dingy on getting out but a box like this would trap it for a 1000 years, and it looked for the nearest warm body, which wasn't a problem for Angel.**

"No it's not", Buffy smirked.

"So finally, something", Tara said in relief.

**Angel read it took 600 species of virgin wood handcrafted by blind Tibetan monks to make, and then writing down an address gave it to her, saying a guy called Rick would have it, so she left with it while Paige asked Angel what was going on.**

"He sure does know a lot of people", Xander noted. "Which is a good thing."

**Wesley did the exorcism as Ryan sat up and said his Latin sucked, but Wesley splashed Holy Water on his face then picked the book, saying he won't deter him, but Ryan said in a Demonic voice he couldn't do a thing. Wesley continued chanting as Ryan said he couldn't even 'watch', and so he had been fired, and nothing would make 'him' proud.**

"Well, Faith at that point wasn't the kind anyone could watch", Buffy commented.

"He was pretty fresh though", Giles pointed out. "He was learned, but he didn't have much experience in things like this back then. So it's a wonder why they sent him to be a Watcher to 2 Slayers, it's like they rigged him to fail or something."

"To be honest, based on what you've told us, the Watchers who watched the Slayers were the ones who the Council least cared about", Willow pointed out, and Giles looked stung, but it was true. [1]

"Truth is harsh, G-man", Xander said in sympathy.

"I know, and you seem to be right", Giles sighed sadly.

"Hey, they don't know what they're missing out on by treating you and Wesley badly", Buffy assured as he smiled.

"Yeah, we all still like you and find you vital", Tara smiled.

"Yup", Dawn said too.

"Well, thank you", Giles said with a flattered smile.

**Wesley thrust a cross in his face and continued chanting as Ryan said in Wesley's voice that he'd been locked up under the stairs for hours and still wasn't good enough for his dad and the Council.**

"His dad locked him under the stairs? Here I thought my dad was bad", Xander said. "But this is some Harry Potter level thing."

"Yeah", Willow said, everyone finding the parallel to Harry's treatment by Petunia and Vernon disturbing.

**Wesley continued chanting as Ryan taunted that he wasn't wanted here either when Angel arrived and said he'd invited Wesley, making Ryan counter that made him even stupider. Wesley held the cross and continued chanting as Ryan told Wesley to tell Angel he was a fool to trust him and that he planned to kill him too which Wesley denied. Ryan said Wesley feared Angel more than him, making Wesley lunge at him but Ryan held up his hand and the cross buried on the side of Wesley's neck, making him fall back with a scream as Angel ran to him, pulled the cross and tossed it away, shaking his hand from the pain while Ryan laughed.**

"If Wesley can kill Angel when needed, then it would only make him more trustworthy", Tara pointed out.

"Yes, but Demons like this one have a way of manipulating words", Buffy said.

**At Rick's place, Cordelia asked for an Ethros Box but Rick didn't have it, but he did have a Shorshack box made by mute Chinese nuns, and said it could work for an Ethros Demon, and she agreed to buy it.**

"If it's tight across the shoulders, then it would make the Ethros uncomfortable, so fine by me", Dawn said with a smirk.

**Paige put a bandage on Wesley's neck in the kitchen as he assured it wouldn't happen again but Angel told him not to go in there, and then the kitchen table shook as marbles rolled out of their bag spelling 'Save Me' while Doyle's voice came from the bedroom. "The good fight, yeah?"**

Doyle's voice made lumps almost form in everyone's throats. This Ethros really was something else.

**The doors sprang open as Ryan said Doyle wanted to ask why Angel hadn't protected him. Angel ripped off a strip of the kitchen towel, wrapped it around his hand, and picked up the cross as Cordelia came back. He walked to the bedroom, Seth behind him as Cordelia and Wesley held the box open between them, while Ryan taunted both Angel and Seth. Angel made Seth back off while he lay the cross on Ryan's chest, and then Wesley and Angel both chanted, the former in English and the latter in Latin, Angel's hand smoking badly, but he didn't budge one bit. He then morphed into Vamp face. "Now get the hell out!"**

"That was brave", Buffy said of Angel holding the cross for so long.

"And selfless", Willow added.

"Just hope it's enough", Tara said.

**Angel stepped back as Ryan writhed on the bed. Ryan began to glow, the light hitting the open box and shattering it. Cordelia and Wesley turned as a wind raced up the stairs. Ryan was laying on the bed, back in his human face. Paige ran in and hugged her son, Seth following and doing the same while Team Angel looked at the broken box.**

"And the Demon is out of Ryan", Dawn said.

"But not in the box", Giles pointed out. "So it's still out there."

"Guess a smaller box wouldn't work", Xander sighed.

**Wesley later scraped up some Plakticine, realizing the Ethros had come here, but Angel said it would be long gone, though it'd possess again, but it needed time to recharge due to expelling energy to escape, so right now it was corporeal and they could kill it. He tossed Wesley a weapon and said they needed to go to primordial volcanic basalt, Wesley telling Cordelia he meant sea caves as she wondered why he hadn't said that while the two walked out.**

"He sure does know a lot of big words", Buffy commented.

"So, study more then", Xander shrugged with a smirk.

"Look who's talking?" Willow asked as he sighed, then all chuckled together.

**Angel and Wesley walked to a sea cave, finding some mucus, and as Wesley brought up what the Ethros had said, Angel said he knew Wesley didn't plan on killing him, but was willing to, which was good.**

"Told you", Tara said as all sighed in relief that this was resolved.

**They found the Ethros who mocked them both for thinking they could destroy him, and Wesley called him a bully for corrupting an innocent child. The Ethros said he had corrupted spirits of men before they could talk, and the child was supposed to be the last, so Wesley taunted him for not getting the boy's soul, only for the Ethros to ask. "Hmph, what soul?"**

Everyone paled as they realized what the Ethros meant.

"Does he mean the kid doesn't have a soul?" Willow asked.

"I think that's exactly what he implied", Buffy said.

"But he's an evil Demon, maybe he's lying to distract", Dawn pointed out.

**Paige set a cup of hot cocoa for Stephani and Ryan, as Ryan pointed out Stephani had 9 marshmallows while he had 7, though Paige assured him it was fine and that bedtime was nearby, kissing his cheek.**

"Suddenly I think having less marshmallows than him is fatal", Xander said with a gulp.

**Ethros lowered its hood. "Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is? - Nothing! That's what I found in the boy." Ryan stared at Stephanie as she drank her hot cocoa, "no conscience, no fear, no humanity, just a black void. I couldn't control him. I couldn't get out. I never even manifested until you brought me forth. I just sat there and watched as he destroyed everything around him. Not from a belief in evil, not for any reason at all."**

"What the hell?" Dawn said, everyone horrified.

"So all of the evil, it was the boy?" Giles said, clearly in disbelief himself.

"Damn!" Xander said.

**Paige told Seth that Ryan didn't remember a thing, while Wesley realized the marbles was actually the Ethros. The Ethros said he had tried to get Ryan to end his life, even if it meant ending his own. Angel realized he had made Ryan sleepwalk to the car as the Ethros said he'd given up hope, and he didn't fear death now, only the boy. Wesley reminded Angel that Ryan was with his family so they needed to hurry, the Ethros agreeing as Angel brought his ax down on it while a scream was heard as Paige tucked Ryan in bed.**

"So the family is still in danger", Buffy said, all pale. "The Demon was never it."

"This is….." Willow trailed off, not sure what to say.

"No one has words for this", Tara said grimly.

**Paige and Seth slept as Ryan arrived, picking up matches next to Seth's cigarettes. Seth stirred as Ryan walked off and closed the door, driving a wedge underneath the door to prevent it from being opened, puzzling the now woken parents as Seth tried and failed to open the door. Ryan took the phone off the hook and picked a can of gasoline, ignoring his parents' attempts to talk to him as he walked into Stephanie's bedroom. Seth kept throwing himself again the door, trying to break it open, screaming at Ryan. Ryan poured gasoline on the floor in Stephanie's room. He set the can down and lit a match. After a moment he dropped the lit match and the gasoline went up in a wall of flame with Stephanie's bed on the other side. Stephanie woke up and screamed as the smoke detector went off. Ryan just stood there watching the flames. Seth and Paige came up behind him, seeing the wall of flame as Stephani begged for help.**

"So this proves it, it was the kid all along", Buffy said, clearly saddened by this turn of events, and so were the rest.

"A kid without a soul, wonder how he was born like that", Willow wondered.

**Angel jumped in through the window, picking Stephanie as Wesley arrived and led the family away, picking up Ryan as Angel jumped out the window with Stephanie, and later firemen, ambulance and police cars had arrived, Kate shutting the back door of a police car where Ryan sat, and she walked to Angel and Seth.**

All sighed in relief as Tara said. "At least they're safe."

"But the family won't ever be the same", Dawn pointed out.

"I don't think there was anything same in them before", Xander sighed.

**Kate told Seth social services would speak to his son and he could only see him the next day. Angel thanked her for coming and she nodded before walking off. Seth watched as Ryan was driven away. "I won't be able to cover for him anymore. They're gonna want to know about Ohio – and everything. - I wanted to protect him." "I know", Angel assured. Seth looked over at Angel. "I was just trying to hold my family together." Angel looked over at where Paige and Stephanie stood together wrapped in a blanket and Seth looked over as well. "I think you did." Seth nodded slightly at Angel then went over and picked Stephanie up in his arms. Angel walked over to where Cordelia and Wesley were waiting next to his car as the screen went black.**

"So this is the end", Buffy sighed.

"I have to admit, this ended up very differently from what I had anticipated", Giles said.

"None of us would have seen this coming", Willow told him.

"The family is together, but it would be a long time before they can be normal and happy again", Xander said.

"Well, I hope it ended up better for them all", Dawn said.

"Still, a kid born without a soul, that is something I've never heard of", Tara said.

"Yes, that is new", Willow agreed.

"Don't think you can give him a soul, can you? Since the guilt would horrify him", Xander said.

"Well, I don't know. Like, if that fire that killed Uncle Frank and what we saw here was all he did, then I can, but if there's more, it would be even crueler to give him a soul", Willow said.

"Guess some people just can't be helped", Tara said. "Soul or no soul."

"I know", Buffy said as she went to the next recording. "Here's hoping the next one will be better."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got to say, if this episode had been simply about exorcising a Demon from a boy, it would have been a decent one, and a good homage to 'The Exorcist', but nothing special.
> 
> Then the 2nd half happened, bringing up Wesley's daddy issues for the first time, and the shocking reveal that Ryan had been evil by himself and not because of the Ethros Demon, and all of that elevated the episode.
> 
> [1] I think others would have noticed it but I'm still saying it- the Watchers assigned to watch a Slayer (or Slayers in Wesley's case) are the ones treated the worst by the Council, and not cared about much, like when Post said that the other Watchers were getting together for a retreat in Buffy Season 3, Giles had no idea. So clearly, they have their own classes, and their inner circle is what knows everything, while other Watchers, especially the ones who are handling Slayers, are treated like trash.
> 
> Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!


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